Persona 3: The Pursuer
by AronnPhoenix
Summary: Following the Persona 3 storyline, with the view point of an OC. Yoshiro Akio has only one purpose in his life now; to find the friend he lost to the Dark Hour. His purpose brought him to Gekkoukan High, where he meets the members of SEES.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, Chapter 1

This is my first project, so please feel free to comment and criticize _constructively_. any suggestions would help.

Oh, before I forget.

Disclaimer: Atlus owns the storyline, character, and pretty much everything else in Persona 3. I just added two characters of my own and watch what happens.

Edit: Changed the rating for this fic because my friend pointed out that there's really nothing in here that should be rated M.

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: The New Transfer Student<p>

* * *

><p>6 Months ago<p>

_The blood is getting into his eyes. In his rapidly blurring vision, He could see her, a silhouette in front of the full moon. He reached out to her, whispering one word-her name.  
><em>

_"Mo...mo...ka..."  
><em>

* * *

><p>Present<p>

He stood there, in front of him, Gekkoukan High. He'd never seen it in person before today, yet he could already tell that this school would not be unlike all the rest he had visited in the past months.

He quickly went over the rules he had established for himself; Don't distinguish yourself from the rest of the student body, don't form bonds with anyone, and, most importantly, gather information about Momoka.

Momoka...

He shook his head quickly to snap himself out of it. He needs to focus on what he has to do right now.

With that in mind, he walked into the school.

* * *

><p>"Alright, settle down, settle down. It seems that we have another transfer student in our class this month," His new homeroom teacher, Ms. Toriumi, said to the class.<p>

"I expect you'll make him feel welcomed. Now why don't you introduce yourself?" she asked, looking at him.

He stepped forward. "My name is Yishiro Akio, pleased to make your acquaintance." he said, exactly the way he did the last few schools.

"Great. Now, let's see..." Ms. Toriumi said, scanning the room, "Ah, how about you sit next to him?" She said, pointing to a boy with bluish hair a detached look on his face. "He's a transfer student too, so you two should get along."

"Um...Ms. Toriumi?" another student said, standing up, a girl with brownish hair, the popular type, by his guess. "That desk is already taken. He's just not here today."

"Well if he's not here then that seat is available, isn't it?" Ms. Toriumi said stubbornly. That ended the discussion right there, and Yoshiro sat down in "his" seat.

"Alright, now let's pick up where we left off yesterday..." Ms. Toriumi said, starting her lesson.

* * *

><p>Yoshiro stretched with a sigh. The school day is over, and so far, everything is pretty much what you'd expect life to be in a typical high school; Boring classes, teachers with no idea what they're doing, students that don't give a damn, the works.<p>

"Yo."

He turned towards the voice, where a male student in a cap stood with an overly cheerful smile.

"What's up? Name's Junpei. I used to be a transfer student like you. And Minato too, the kid you're sitting next to, he was a transfer student like three weeks ago."

Yoshiro turned to his neighbor, the quiet kid with blue hair, who held up a hand but said nothing.

"Nice to meet you," Yoshiro said almost dismissively, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go," he finished, rising to his feet and starting to walk away.

"Wait, where're you going?" Junpei asked him. He sighed, annoyed.

"To find the student council president," he said, "I was told that she'll tell me where my dorm is."

"Student Council- you mean Mitsuru-Senpai?" Junpei pressed on, obviously not taking the hint.

"I don't know her name. I'm new, remember? Now could you buzz of?" he said with an overly contemptuous tone. Junpei's reaction was exactly what he wanted.

"Hmph, fine, I see how it is," Junpei said somewhat sulkily, "I was just being friendly and all." With that he walked away.

Minato sighed and stood up, walking past him. " Come on, I'll take you to Mitsuru-senpai," he said, the first time Yoshiro actually heard him speak.

"Oh, I was beginning to think that you can't talk," Yoshiro taunted, trying to drive him away like he did Junpei.

Minato looked at him coolly, not at all bothered by his remark, and merely stared at him.

After a while Yoshiro threw up his hand in mock defeat. "Fine, fine, where to?"

Minato gestured for him to follow, and they walked out of the class, only to enter the room right across from it. There, several students are busy doing...well, student council stuff for all he cares. One of them, a redhead with an elegant air around her, noticed them walk in and approached them.

"Arisato, who is this? He's not a student council member," she asked Minato.

"He's the new transfer student," Minato replied simply. The redhead's eyes lit up and she approached him.

"Ah, right. How about we talk outside?" she said, sheperding them out of the room, "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. We were expecting you at the dorm last night, but you never came."

"It was really late. I figured it'd be better to stay in a hotel and go to the dorm today than arrive at three in the morning," he said.

"That does not matter. After all, Arisato arrived at the dorm past midnight. Regardless, your things are already in your room in the dorm. Arisato, could you take..."

"Yoshiro. Yoshiro Akio."

"Could you take Akio to the dorm? He will be staying there until further notice. I still have business to take care of in school. His room is the one opposite yours."

Minato shrugged indifferently, and without waiting for another reply Mitsuru went back into the room. He then gestured for him to follow, and started to walk away. Yoshiro stood there for a moment before chuckling. And then he rushed to catch up to Minato.

* * *

><p>"Oh, hello. Who are you?"<p>

They had taken the train out of Tatsumi Port Island, and had entered a particular building in Iwatodai, if he's not mistaken. There, a middle-aged man with goofy glasses and an even goofier grin greeted them with that question.

"I'm the new transfer student," he answered, " Yoshiro Akio."

"Ah yes. I suppose I should introduce myself too. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki, I'm the chairman of the school. I heard that you did not arrive yesterday, like you were supposed to, so we were a little worried."

"There were delays," Yoshiro answered smoothly, "I had to stay in a hotel for a night."

"Well, as long as you're alright," the man continued, "Now, do regarding your room assignment, there was a little confusion in the school's part, so until that's sorted out, you'll be staying in this dorm. I hope you're fine with that."

He shrugged. "I'm fine with that."

"Excellent. How about you examine your new room, then? It's on the second floor, all the way at the end of the hallway to the left. Your things are already there. And rest while you're at it. As they say, the early bird catches the bookworm!"

...That was the worst pun he had ever heard, but he chose not to say so out loud, and instead merely nodded before heading for the stairs. On the way up he met the girl from earlier in class.

"Oh, you're..." she said hesitantly.

"Yoshiro Akio," he said.

"Right," she said almost lost in thought, "Oh, my name's Yukari Takeba. We're in the same class."

Yoshiro nodded. He remembered.

"So, you've met the chairman downstairs?"

He nodded.

"Did he crack a bad pun on you?"

Another nod.

"Yeah... You'll get used to it. Well, welcome, then. Hope you enjoy it here."

"Thanks," he replied briefly.

"You know where your room is?" she asked.

"Yes. Second floor, last room to the left."

"Yup, right across from Minato's."

He nodded, and then proceeded up the stairs with a quick wave. He easily located the room, opened it, and walked in.

* * *

><p>4th Floor of the Dormitory<p>

"How is he doing?"

Mitsuru turned from the computer screen, showing the surveillance of Yoshiro's room. Ikutsuki stood behind her.

"Well, looks like he's asleep, for now," she commented. "Chairman, do you really think he has the potential?"

"Well I suppose we'll see. He could turn out like Minato, after all," the chairman replied. "In any case, it's almost the Dark Hour. If he remain in human form, that'll make it easier won't it?"

A few minutes later, the clock strikes midnight. And the room is instantly bathed in a greenish hue, while the moon shone an eerie yellow.

The Dark Hour had begun.

And Yoshiro is still in human form.

"Well, this shows that he at least has potential, or else he would have turned into a coffin." Mitsuru remarked.

"Good work. Continue to monitor- wait, what is he doing?"

The Chairman's remark brought Mitsuru's attention back onto the screen. Yoshiro, who had been laying on the bed, presumably sleeping, sat up and stretched as if it's natural for him to do so. He then jumped out of the bed, opened the window in his room-

-And jumped out.

Both Mitsuru and Ikutsuki stared at the screen in awe.

"What just happened?" Mitsuru asked after a few moments.

"I don't know, but it's almost as if he's used to doing that." Ikutsuki replied.

"I'll wake up the others. We don't want anything to happen to him during the Dark Hour." Mitsuru said.

"Right. We need to make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble," Ikutsuki agreed.

The wretched time came again, and like always, he went out to search. Search for anything that would lead him to Momoka.

* * *

><p>He's used to this now; this wretched hour between one day and the next. He knows he'll get tired more quickly now, that most people are magically transformed into coffins.<p>

That monsters roam free.

But here is where she disappeared to, and he'll do everything in his power to find her.

He rounded a corner on the street, still familiarizing himself with the area, when he saw it in the direction of Gekkoukan High.

The Tower, Soaring high like some twisted monstrous living thing, the moon partially blocked by it. In all his searching, this is his first time coming across something like it. He could feel a sense of dread emanating from the tower.

He could feel something else too. She's there, somewhere on that tower.

"Wait for me Momoka," he whispered. Then he ran in the direction of the tower.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, Chapter 2

Still don't have a clear timeline yet. Hopefully I'll be able to put up a chapter every 1-2 chapters. In the meantime, please comment. Any constructive comments would help immensely.

I know the story is going pretty fast right now. Hopefully things will settle into a slower pace as soon as I could set Yoshiro's story in stone. Don't expect it before the first Full Moon battle, though. Oh, definitely not.

Chapter 2: Oarsman of the Dead

The tower looks even taller as Yoshiro stood in front of it, so much so that he could barely see the top. Another thing that strikes him as strange; the tower stood where the school was. Are they connected somehow?

No, now's not the time for this. There's not much time before the world returns to normal.  
>"Well, here goes nothing," he mumbled to himself before stepping in.<p>

The inside of the structure is as bizarre as outside. It's simply a huge empty room, save for the stairs on the center leading up to a... Broken Clock face? What?

And off to the side is a panel, gently glowing on the floor. He walked up to it, but it doesn't seem to do anything except glow.

He focused on the clock face, walking up the stairs until he's standing a mere feet from it. He gingerly reached out his hand...

"Stop!" Someone shouted, just as his hand touched the clock face.

The next thing he knew, he's at the end of a bizarre hallway, reminiscent of the hallways of Gekkoukan, except for the fact that everything's green, and blood is everywhere.

"Ugh," he groaned, rubbing his head, a sudden headache overcoming him...

"..._Yoshiro..._"

That made him froze. That was definitely Momoka's voice. She really is here.

"Momoka!" he shouted, running out of the hall, then stopping. The entire place is a hallway, a maze. How is he going to find Momoka in this place?

Then something appeared- crawled, to be more accurate- around the corner. Black, squelching, a sickening sight-a monster

It noticed him.

Yoshiro didn't hesitate, he ran the other direction. The monsters that appear during this time are almost impossible to kill, and he won't even try to fight them. The first time he tried he barely escaped with his life.

"Gurglegurglegurgle," the monster squelched, chasing after him. Damn. The thing is fast. It's going to catch up to him. If that's the case...

He pivoted midstride, spun, and roundhouse kicked the monster right on the eyes. The thing burst, only to reform as smaller blobs, each with a queer mask and arms, but nothing else.

He continued and jumped, axe-kicking the one closest to him on the mask, cracking its mask. The thing retaliated by scratching a deep gash on his thigh.

Damn. That hurts.

He rolled out of the way just as it waved its arms again, and jumped as another one clawed him. A third one, however, clawed his back.

"Aagh!" He exclaimed in pain, dropping to his knees. The monsters drew close.

BANG

"Orpheus!"

A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It looked like a robot, with a scarf and lire on its back. It took said lire off of its back and proceeded to smash one of the monsters with it.

BANG

"Hermes!"

This time a bluish figure with a mask resembling a beak and wings attached to its body appeared and hurled a fireball on the second monster, burning it to cinders.

"Are you alright?"

BANG

He felt the wounds on his back and thigh closing, and he turned around to see a floating cows head with a woman chained to it.

And below it, the girl he met just today- Yukari, if he's not mistaken.

"Raaaaargh!" Roared-Junpei, was it? - as he rushed from behind Yukari towards the shadow with a long Katana, holding it like a baseball bat. After that he heard a scream as the third

monster died.

"How is he?" Minato-He remembered his name alright- asked as he walked up to Yukari. The figures disappeared.

"No major wounds, thankfully. A simple Dia was enough," Yukari said to Minato, who nodded.

"Yeah! Did you see that? I kicked their asses!" Junpei exclaimed.

"Geez, you're bouncing around like a little kid, would you calm down, Stupei?" Yukari said exasperatedly.

"Awww, come on, Yuka-tan, I kicked some major butt right there."

"We should get him out of here," Minato said calmly, ignoring Junpei, who looked a little ticked off.

"Alright, alright, fine. You're the leader after all." He said grudgingly. Minato wasn't listening.

"Mitsuru-senpai, we found him," Minato said. Yoshiro looked around at the mention of the student council president's name, but she was nowhere to be found. Great, another thing for his head to struggle with.

"…Who are you? _What_are you?" He asked after a while.

"We'll explain later. This isn't the place to discuss it." Minato said, offering a hand. He paused for a moment before taking it. Better to be with them than the monster, right?

Then his eyes widen. "What?" he said, putting his hand to his ear, "are you sure, Mitsuru-senpai?"

Well that explains why he was talking to Mitsuru before.

Minato quickly turned to the others, who had the same distraught expression on their faces. "Junpei, cover that side. I'll cover this one. Yukari, stay between us and cover him." He said swiftly before taking a stance at his end. Junpei looked stunned for a moment before quickly shaking his head to snap himself out and taking position on the other side of the hall.

"What's going " Yoshiro started to ask before the first monster oozed into view, followed by another, and another.

"Those things, we call them shadows," Yukari said to him, all the while taking aim at the closest one and letting an arrow loose, dispersing it into smaller forms not unlike the ones that attacked him before. "They're the enemy."

"Never would have guessed," he mumbled softly under his breath.

Minato took a gun from his hip and- brought it to his head?

What?

BANG

"Orpheus!"

The figure –He'd guess its name is Orpheus – appeared again, strumming its lire to set one of the shadows ablaze, incinerating it to cinders.

BANG

"Hermes!"

He turned around to see – Hermes, was it? – appearing before Junpei on the other side, burning another shadow to a crisp.

"What are those?" he asked Yukari despite the situation.

"Those are personas," Yukari explained, pausing to skewer another shadow right on the mask, breaking it. The shadow promptly exploded into purplish goo. Shadows die when their masks break. He stored that at the back of his mind.

"They're the only way to beat the shadows," Yukari continued, "But not everyone has them, only those with the potential."

Potential? His head is swimming, trying to take all this new information in.

"Agh!"

"Minato-kun!" Yukari exclaimed. Minato dropped to one knee. One of the shadows had caught him by surprise and clawed at his thigh before his sword cut it in two. The gun flew out of his hand and clattered a few feet from them.

The shadows closed in on Minato.

Yoshiro's reaction was almost instantaneous. He rushed to Minato's aid, jumping and driving his heel into the mask of one of the shadows, shattering the mask and making the shadow explode in the process, showering him with goo.

Ichor. The goo is ichor. He doesn't know where the word came from, but he used it nonetheless.

"You okay?" he asked Minato, who nodded. The shadows shuffled closer.

"You should stay back," Minato said, almost making him laugh. Isn't he the one injured?

He bit his lips. What should he do? There's no way for him to cover Minato and fight at the same time. He could barely handle one.

Then he remembered.

_Bang_

"_Orpheus!"_

What did Yukari say? Only those with potential have them? Does he have this potential too?

One way to find out.

He flipped backwards and scooped up the gun Minato dropped, and brought it to his temple, flinching as the cold steel touched his skin.

"Hey, wait!"

He took a deep breath. His hand is shaking. Would he be able to pull the trigger?

"What are you doing?"

What if he doesn't have the potential? Would he die if he pulled the trigger?

"…_Yoshiro_…"

Was that…

BANG

The sensation felt like…well…a cold bullet through his skull. But he felt no pain, only power. Blue flames lit all around him, though he felt no heat. A voice suddenly rang in his head, soft but powerful.

_I am thou. Thou art I. From the emptiness of thy soul I come._

The blue flames still circling around him, a cloak formed around him, black as night. The gun in his right hand transforming –or was it replaced? – into a scythe, taller than himself, shaped like the crescent moon with a pure black blade.

_I am Charon, Oarsman of the Dead._

He smiled.

And rushed to meet the incoming shadows.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Charon

* * *

><p>Yoshiro brought the scythe in a wicked horizontal arc, cleaving three shadows' masks neatly in halves. He jumped back as another one clawed at him, ripping thin air. He raised the scythe high and swung it down, this time cleaving the entire shadow <em>and <em>leaving a substantial gash on the floor. He somersaulted backwards before the next wave of shadows could reach him.

His entire body felt light, and the scythe weights like nothing in his hands. What's more, he could use it, even though it was the first time he held anything like it in his hands. Is this the power of "Persona" that the others have? But if so, where is his figure…

A shadow lunged at him. He neatly sidestepped and with that momentum round-housed it square on the mask.

It flew a good six feet before splattering all over the wall.

Alright, so he got stronger too. A _lot _stronger.

This should be fun.

He ran forward, heading towards the nearest shadow, digging his heel into the ground at the last minute, sharply pivoting and using the energy to swing the scythe downwards with such a force that the entire blade not only obliterated the shadow but buried itself in the floor up to its base. With little difficulty Yoshiro pulled the scythe blade out of the floor and swung it around a few more times, wreaking havoc on the shadow that had tried to surround him, jumping back when they came too close for his comfort. He bumped into Minato, now standing, the wound on his thigh all but gone. Yukari probably healed it with her "Persona."

"Sorry, didn't see you," Yoshiro said, pausing to kick a shadow into another one, sending both sailing and splattering on the walls.

" 'S okay. Where's my evoker?" Minato asked him casually, all the while using his short sword to block a strike from a nearby shadow. Yoshiro assumed he meant the gun that summoned his "Persona."

"It kinda turned into my scythe. Sorry," he said apologetically, realizing that the "evoker" is something Minato needed to summon his "Persona."

Minato clicked his tongue in annoyance, throwing the shadow off his short sword and impaling it before it could recover. "Too bad," he murmured, "would've helped right now."

BANG! BANG!

"Come on Hermes!" Yoshiro heard Junpei's voice yell behind them, followed by loud explosions. He seems to have things under control over there. Yoshiro could also hear the thrum and thwack as Yukari lets loose arrow after arrow after shadows on both sides, hitting with decent accuracy.

"He can't keep it up for long," Minato said.

"What?"

"Junpei-san. He can't keep using his persona like that. There's a limit," Minato explained briefly, preoccupied with separating another shadow's mask from its body and crushing said mask under his foot for good measure.

"How long can he last?" Yoshiro asked him.

"At this rate? Not long," Minato said, dodging another attack. "Damn. There's no end in them."

He's right. The shadows just kept on coming. They can't last forever under this onslaught.

_Fool. Is swinging a scythe all you can do?_

What? It's that voice again, the one that had rung in his head when he shot himself on the head with the evoker.

_I'll show you how to use my powers correctly._

Suddenly his arms moved by themselves, slamming the base of the scythe to the ground. A large glowing glyph appeared on the ground, encompassing the group and all the shadows.

"**MAMUDO!" **he said, though the voice sounded more like the one in his head than his own. The glyph grew brighter. A good amount of shadows screeched and exploded as the glyph flashed brightly before disappearing.

His arms slammed the scythe once more.

"**MAMUDO!" **this time, the rest of the shadows exploded with a shriek, leaving them standing in a heel-deep puddle of ichor.

The cloak that wrapped around him disappeared. The scythe followed suit, the evoker now in his hand. All the energy that had flowed into his body now left, leaving him feeling drained. He didn't even have enough energy to keep himself standing for long. He fell face-first into the disgusting puddle.

"Hey! Are you alright!" he heard a panicked voice shout before he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><em>He stood in the middle of a barren, windswept field, gray everywhere around him. He looked around, seeing nothing but skeletons of trees here and there. Nothing else.<em>

"**Fainting from two measly attacks? Tsk tsk."**

_He turned to the direction of the voice. There, standing where nothing was moments ago is a figure in an ominously familiar tattered black cloak, holding an equally familiar scythe. His head is down, and all he could see is the unkempt black hair on his head._

"**Though I suppose that could be fixed with experience."**

"_Who…"_

"**You don't remember who I am? How sad. I even said the customary words."**

"_What?"_

"'**I am thou. Thou art I.' Do you not remember what I said?"**

"_You're…Charon?" _

"**I am the one you've awoken, yes."**

"_Where are we? And…what exactly are you?"_

"**I am a Persona a façade to overcome life's hardships, a 'reflection' of your true self. As to where we are… why don't **_**you **_**tell me?"**

_He looked around at the barren fields around him; gray, silent, completely devoid of life. He then remembered the role Charon played in Greek myths._

"_Is this…Tartarus?"_

_Charon laughed._

"**Well, you've certainly been **_**in **_**Tartarus, but no, this is not Tartarus. You are not dead yet, merely unconscious."**

"_Then, where is this?"_

"**I would explain, but it seems you are regaining consciousness. It's about time."**

"_What do you mean? How long have I been here?"_

"**Well, let's just say that time…has no bearing here."**

_A soft gray mist suddenly covered the fields, growing thicker by the second. Charon disappeared in the ever-thickening mist._

"**I'll tell you the exact nature of this place the next time you come here. Assuming, of course, that you have not figured that out for yourself at that point. Till then, try to use my powers to the fullest. They'll be wasted otherwise."**

* * *

><p>Yoshiro sat up, his eyes darting this way and that. The barren fields and the figure calling himself Charon had all but disappeared. Instead, he found himself sitting on a bed, in a white room, with a beeping instrument next to him, his clothes replaced by a white robe.<p>

Great. A hospital. He hates hospitals with a passion. Hospitals were where they all went before they…

"Thank you, Doctor," someone said as the door to his hospital room opened. The red-headed student council president, Mitsuru, walked in, facing the outside, apparently still in a conversation with a doctor outside. She closed the door.

"What did the doctor say?"

If Mitsuru was startled by his sudden question she didn't show it. She merely turned to him. "You're awake I see. How are you feeling?"

"Peachy. What did the doctor say?" he asked again.

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow. "You are not surprised that I came into your hospital room?" she asked, slightly amused.

"Nope," he answered.

"You are an interesting one," Mitsuru remarked. "To answer your question, I was inquiring on your condition, but he convinced me that you would wake up at any minute. Obviously he wasn't mistaken."

"How long was I out?" Yoshiro asked.

"A few days. Today is the ninth." Mitsuru answered, "Apparently you were exhausted from your… performance back in Tartarus. That was extremely impressive, especially considering the fact that you had no previous experience battling shadows before."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," he said, rubbing his head, "I've encountered them before, but that was the first time I used that power, the Persona."

Mitsuru rubbed her chin. "So you were aware of the Dark Hour before?"

He nodded. "The hidden 25th hour of the day, occurring every midnight. Yes, I'm aware of it. I've been aware of it for six months now."

"I see… Well in any case, let's discuss the details when you're released from the hospital. I think it would be much better to explain everything to you with everyone present. Rest for now." Mitsuru said, turning to leave.

"Great. Tonight, then?"

Mitsuru stopped midstride. "I'm sorry?"

Yoshiro is already unhooking the equipment from his body. "You heard me. I feel fine, so I see no reason for me to be here any longer. After all, it was only exhaustion, right."

"That is exactly why you should take today to rest," Mitsuru said, her tone making it clear that it was an order rather than a request.

Yoshiro chuckled on the inside. Mitsuru is definitely not a person to be trifled with. A reasonable person wouldn't risk crossing her just to get out of the hospital a day early.

Too bad he's not a reasonable person. Not in the slightest.

"Oh, I'm quite resilient. You don't need to worry about my well being." he said with a smile. "But thanks for caring anyway, Senpai. Now, about my clothes…"

They stared at each other for a long moment, sizing each other up.

Finally Mitsuru sighed. "I'll talk to the doctor about it. I will arrange a meeting this evening at seven so that we could discuss the details. Be sure to make it."

"Oh I will, Senpai, don't worry" he said, the smile still on his face.

Mitsuru opened the door to leave. "Oh, and Akio, should you arrive one second late to the meeting, expect immediate execution." She said before closing the door.

Yoshiro stood there blinking for a while. She… wasn't serious, right?

Right?

* * *

><p>Yay, Chapter 3's done!<p>

I'm definitely going to try to stick to the game's timeline. Yoshiro's presence won't affect it too much, hopefully, but, you know, stuff happens.

For those who played the game, you should know what's coming in the next chapter or two.

N please, please, please comment. I need to know what you all think of this story so that I could improve it. But again, _Constructive_ criticism please.


	4. Chapter 4

*Sigh* I hate writer's block.

Well, at least this chapter's done, right?

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: SEES<p>

* * *

><p>"Oh, good, you're just on time." Mitsuru said with a smile.<p>

Yoshiro leaned on the doorframe, panting. Yup, he paid for his stubbornness alright. Of course Mitsuru knew how long it would take for him to talk his way out of the hospital. And of course she knew the train schedule of the city. She scheduled the meeting so that he won't arrive on time unless he ran from the station to the dorm. And run he did. _All _the way. He's still not sure whether or not Mitsuru was serious about the "execution" or not, but he's not taking that chance. There's still one thing he need to finish before he die.

"You're…a scary woman… Mitsuru-senpai…" He said between ragged breaths. Heh, was it just his imagination, or did her smile just widen?

"The others are waiting upstairs, in the fourth floor. Come on, we have no time to waste."

Yoshiro looked up the flight of stair, feeling his legs throbbing again.

Alright, he's never going to mess with Mitsuru ever again.

"Hey, look, it's our resident reaper." Junpei said with a big grin as he walked-dragged, he corrected himself- into the room on the fourth floor. Then he noticed the sweat drenching his clothes. "Whoa, Dude, what did you do, run all the way here from the hospital?"

Yoshiro shook his head. "Just from the station," he said, regaining his breath. Junpei looked at him like he was crazy.

"Why?" he asked.

"I didn't want to get executed," he said honestly.

Everyone in the room laughed. Hard. In fact, Junpei looked ready to die from laughter. Even Minato snickered a bit.

Yoshiro looked at the people inside the room. Besides the people he had met before in the tower and Mitsuru, Ikutsuki is also present, as well as another boy. He looked pretty tough, with white hair and a red vest.

"Ah, right. Akihiko, this is Yoshiro Akio. Yoshiro, Akihiko Sanada," Mitsuru said.

The boy, Akihiko, stood up. "Hey, nice to meet you. Heard what you did to the shadows the other day. Pretty impressive," Akihiko said with an approving tone. "You do martial arts?"

Yoshiro felt a pang of sadness in his heart, remembering the times Momoka had sparred before what happened. He tried his best not to show it.

"Sort of. Well, no, not really. I've just fought before, that's all," he answered in an even voice.

"Heh, want to train together sometimes? I need a sparring partner," Akihiko offered.

"Akihiko, need I remind you that your arm is still hurt? Do you _want_ to get me angry?" Mitsuru said casually, but with the same tone that she had used to "ask" Yoshiro to spend the rest of the day in the hospital.

"Eh, on second thought, never mind," Akihiko said hastily, obviously scared of Mitsuru.

Well he's certainly no idiot.

Ikutsuki cleared his throat. "Well, how about we start this meeting?" He suggested, turning to Yoshiro, "Mitsuru told me that you're already aware of the Dark Hour, as well as the shadows for quite some time now. Is that true?"

He nodded.

"Alright, then, let's get to the business at hand." Ikutsuki said, nodding to Mitsuru, who pulled out a metal briefcase.

"Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad- SEES, for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor."

Hmm, never would've guessed.

"Have you seen what happened to the people the shadows preyed on? A shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse." Mitsuru said.

"The Lost…" Yoshiro murmured, remembering the headlines on the news, of people inexplicably falling into a zombie-like state. His worst nightmare has always been to see Momoka as one of them.

Mitsuru nodded. "The shadows are responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them."

"I could see where this is going," Yoshiro said, "You want me to join you, don't you?"

"I'm glad you're quick to understand," Ikutsuki said cheerfully. Mitsuru opened the briefcase to reveal a silver gun – an evoker, he reminded himself – and a red armband, the word SEES on both of them.

"Do you remember the power that you used the other night? That's "Persona" – the power that enables you to fight shadows. The shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. That is why we're asking to lend us your strength." Ikutsuki explained.

Yoshiro didn't answer, thinking the entire thing over in his mind. He needs to remember why he came here in the first place; to find Momoka, nothing else. Can he afford to get himself wrapped up in this?

…Perhaps a little test.

"…I suppose I could."

"Excellent!" Ikutsuki said, "I'm glad you understand. Now, about – "

"Just one thing," he interrupted, "I'll help you guys, but not because I want to fight the shadows. I have my own reason."

"We're glad for your help nonetheless," Mitsuru said, "and we all have our reasons as well – "

"No, I'm not sure you understand," Yoshiro interrupted again. "I'm saying that my 'reason' is my priority, and will continue to be, even if it's not SEES's."

"Wait, what are you saying?" Junpei asked. Yoshiro was about to answer when Minato answered for him.

"It means that he won't hesitate to betray us if our goals conflict."

Everyone was silent, taking that in.

"…Why are you telling us this?" Mitsuru asked after the pause.

"As a fair warning. In case it does happen in the future, it won't come as a surprise."

"Will you at least tell us what this 'reason' is?" Yukari asked, a confused look on her face.

"No. Fact is I still don't trust you," he continued, trying to get a reaction.

"_You _don't trust _us?_" Junpei said incredulously, his voice close to anger. He could tell that the atmosphere is at the breaking point.

One voice diffused it all.

"Fair enough. Welcome aboard,"

Everyone turned to Minato, who had a disinterested look on his face.

"Wait, are you saying you _trust_ him? After what he said?" Junpei exclaimed with disbelief.

"No, I trust him as much as he trusts us. But he already agreed to fight with us. That's enough for now." Minato said calmly, his gaze fixed on him. "Right?"

Yoshiro also kept his cool, though it took everything inside of him to not laugh. Looks like he found someone as messed up as himself. This should be interesting. Very interesting.

Ikutsuki cleared his throat, obviously trying to take control of the situation. "Well, whatever reasons you may have, so long as you're willing to help us, I don't see any problems with that."

Everyone else agreed halfheartedly after a pause.

Mitsuru closed the briefcase and handed it to Yoshiro. "…Here," she said.

Yoshiro took it with a smile. "Thank you." He replied simply. "Well, I'd best go to my room then. I suppose there's no more need to resolve that little mix up by the school, right, Chairman?"

Ikutsuki nodded slowly.

And without another word he left the command room, downstairs into his own room. He jumped onto his bed, suddenly feeling drained. Perhaps he should have stayed in that hospital for another night.

…No, he hates hospitals.

* * *

><p><em>He's back in the bleak, barren fields. In front of him, Charon stood, his head still down so that all he could see is the black hair.<em>

"**Back so soon? You should've stayed in the hospital."**

"_I can't afford to stay there any longer."_

"**Can't or won't?" **_Charon chuckled, _**"But enough about that. Are you still wondering about where this is?"**

_He shook his head. He knew where he is now._

"'_From the emptiness of thy soul I come,' am I right? This is inside me."_

"**Wow, I'm impressed. Yes, indeed, this is inside your soul. Quite empty, isn't it?"**

"…_About as much as I'd expect," he said, shrugging._

_Again, Charon chuckled, _**"A very fitting reply from one of Death."**

"_Death?"_

"**Well, perhaps you should start studying tarot cards, then. It might help you in the times to come."**

"_Maybe I should…" He said slowly. "By the way, what's with the scythe? You're an oarsman, are you not? Shouldn't an oar be more fitting?"_

"**Would you **_**prefer **_**to swing around an oar?"**

"…_Good point," He said before sighing, "Please don't tell me that I'm going to wake up a week after I closed my eyes like last time."_

_Again, Charon chuckled. _**"Sick of my company already? Well, that's fine. And relax. I told you time has no bearing here. You'll wake up when you need to."**

"_What do you-"_

* * *

><p>The alarm snapped him awake.<p>

He quickly looked around him. Everything's dyed green – The Dark Hour. So the alarms in this dorm work even in the Dark Hour, huh?

He quickly got up out of the bed. He's still wearing his uniform, how convenient. Where's that metal briefcase?

Time to see what's going on.

* * *

><p>Well, Priestess battle is up next. Where's that game script...<p>

I did not plan on Yoshiro's little "test" or Charon's reappearance so soon. It kinda just happened. As I've said, I HATE writer's block.

Hopefully next chapter won't take as long as this one, or be as painful to write.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 is done, finally!

This capter is much longer than the others because I wanted to have the battle in one chapter. Enjoy!

Edit: Yeahhh... Forgot that the Priestess Shadow does _not _know Bufula. Changed it to bufu for now, just because I don't want the Priestess to be _that _strong. After all, besides Yoshiro, everyone else in the party is still about level seven. And yes, I did make him broken on purpose.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: The Priestess<p>

* * *

><p>After finding the briefcase and extracting its contents, Yoshiro bounded up the stairs to the fourth floor quickly. He found Mitsuru and Akihiko there. A few moments later the others burst into the room.<p>

"We're here!" Yukari exclaimed.

"Where is it? I'll rip it a new one!" Junpei shouted enthusiastically.

Minato remained silent.

"We've detected a shadow outside of Tartarus," she started to explain, "We don't know for sure, but we think it's another big one. We have to defeat any of them we find, as quickly as possible. Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half the city is destroyed, there will be panic. That must be avoided at all costs."

"In other words, we need to kick some ass, right? Well, count me in!" Junpei said eagerly.

Yukari sighed, shaking her head, "Junpei…"

Mitsuru turned to Akihiko. "Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the Chairman."

So the Chairman left. Figures.

"Wha – ! Are you kidding! I'm going!" Akihiko protested.

"You still need to recover. You'll just be a hindrance."

"Tch!"

Mitsuru answered him before returning to Akihiko's case. "They'll fare better than you, in your current state. Have faith in them, Akihiko… They're ready. You'll get your chance. But for now, wait for the Chairman."

Akihiko looked torn. Yoshiro could see that the guy really, _really, _wants to go to fight the shadow. "… Dammit…" he muttered after a while, "What about him?" he asked, bringing everyone's attention to Yoshiro.

"Well…" Mitsuru said. She obviously hadn't thought about that. "That's a good point." She turned to him, "Akio, perhaps you should also wait for the Chairman with Akihiko."

Yoshiro immediately shook his head. "Not happening. I could fight. I think the three of them could attest to that," he said, turning to Junpei, Yukari, and Minato.

"Huh? Well, yeah, he did kill all those shadows before…" Yukari murmured, caught unaware by the question. Junpei's answer was more committal.

"What? No way, not after what he said earlier," he said earnestly.

"Would you rather I lie, then?" Yoshiro shot back, silencing Junpei's complaint. "Thought not. Besides, another able fighter won't hurt you, right?"

"I guess I've got no choice…" Akihiko said resignedly. He turned to Minato. " You're in charge."

"Him again…?" Junpei groaned, still throwing suspicious glances in Yoshiro's direction. Yoshiro answered with a small smile and a wave.

"We're counting on you…" Mitsuru said to Minato, either not noticing the tone in Junpei's voice or not caring.

"I'll do my best," Minato answered, also unfazed by Junpei's comment.

Was he the only one that noticed?

Ah well.

"Heh, looks like you're stuck playin' leader again…Sucks to be you," Junpei commented with that same contemptuous voice. Looks like Junpei has power issues.

"You should let the four of them go first. If you're providing backup out there, you'll need time to get ready, right?" Akihiko said to Mitsuru.

She seemed to agree with his reasoning. "Wait for me in front of the station. I'll be there as soon as I can. And show Akio to the armory, as well."

"Got it. Yoshiro-san, this way," Yukari said, gesturing for Yoshiro to follow. Yoshiro chuckled. So apparently this place also has an armory. In any other situation that might've sounded completely insane. Not now, though.

He followed the three of them downstairs.

* * *

><p>Yoshiro experimentally kicked, testing the weight of the greaves he had selected from the armory. He likes the feel of them. They'll easily crush a few masks.<p>

"Where is she?" Yukari asked in an annoyed tone. After the quick trip to the armory to pick up their respective weapons (or in his case, pick one) they had rushed to the station. Along the way, Yukari and Minato had taken turns explaining the details of using a Persona to him so that he won't collapse in the middle of battle like he did last time.

The concept is surprisingly simple. From what he could understand, there are nine basic types of attacks; three physical and seven…well, magical. When a Persona is invoked to attack, it uses up energy, whether it's one's stamina for physical attacks, or one's "spiritual power" (or sp as the others abbreviated it) for magical attack. Run out of sp, you can't use any more spells. Run out of stamina, you faint. Also, each Persona and Shadow has their own resistances and weaknesses to each of the ten types of attacks, as well as their own skill set. They can't use every single attack, only what they know.

And how do you figure out your Persona's skills? "Focus on it," Minato had told him, "Simple as that."

That's how he figured out that Charon is weak to Light (which is bad since that's an insta-kill element) but resists Darkness(The other insta-kill element). He also figured out Charon's skills, all five of them; Agi, Bufu, Garu, Zio, and Mamudo, one of each of the non-physical types of attacks except Light and Almighty.

He also figured out that Charon is of the "Death" Arcana, whatever that means. He remembered Charon's words. Perhaps that's what he meant.

And apparently, Personas have their own levels, reflecting how strong they are. The more they're used, the higher the levels will rise, and the stronger they become. Charon's level is, apparently, fourteen.

Yoshiro had to struggle to push back the comment of how similar to a video game this entire thing is. But seriously, health? Sp? _Levels? _What next?

Back in the present, Junpei took a drink from the bottle he was holding. "She'll be here," he said.

Yukari's expression didn't get any better. She looked up at the moon. "There's a full moon tonight…" she said before shivered "But it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour…"

He has to agree with her on this one. He hates the look of a full moon in the Dark Hour. Reminds him too much of that night…

They suddenly hear the roar of an engine.

"…Huh? What the!"

Mitsuru suddenly rode into view in a motorcycle. A motorcycle. In the Dark Hour.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Mitsuru said as she took off her helmet, "Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same. The Shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not far from the station. To get there, you'll have to walk on the tracks."

"Are you serious! Isn't that dangerous?" Junpei exclaimed.

Actually, Yoshiro had some experience on tracks from his time on the streets, and it's not as dangerous as one would think. You just have to be careful not to get squished by trains.

"Don't worry, no electronic equipment is operable during the Dark Hour, including the monorails."

Mitsuru's answer works too.

"But, your bike…" Junpei said, still unconvinced.

"It's special. Now, if circumstances change, I'll notify you immediately." Mitsuru reassured, turning on the transceiver on her bike as she said that. "Let's get started. Akio, here's your earpiece." Mitsuru said as she handed him the device.

"Alright, let's go," Minato said to them.

* * *

><p>They managed to get into the monorail without a hitch, although Junpei and Yukari bickered all the way. Inside, a few coffins are standing in the car, obviously a passenger when the Dark Hour had hit.<p>

"This poor stiff must be a passenger…" Junpei said. Yoshiro rolled his eyes. Isn't that pretty obvious?

Still, something's been bothering him. This monorail was moving when the Dark Hour hit, right? So why was the door open?

SLAM

…Knew it.

Yukari exclaimed in shock.

"_What's wrong? What's happened!" _Mitsuru asked them over the earpiece.

"The doors closed on us. The Shadow must've been waiting for us," Minato said calmly. Yoshiro could see why he's the leader. He doesn't lose his cool even in situations like this.

"_Be ready for anything!" _Mitsuru warned them.

Just then the door to the next car opened, and a Shadow peeked in, a floating woman's head wearing a mask, different from the ones Yoshiro encountered the other night. It immediately retreated almost as soon as it appeared.

"Hey, what the – Get back here!" Junpei exclaimed, eagerly chasing the Shadow.

"Junpei, wait, it's acting strangely!" Minato warned. Too late, though, as Junpei had already went into the next car.

"_Follow Iori. I have a bad feeling about this." _Mitsuru ordered, not that they won't do it regardless. Minato went through the door first, Yukari right behind him. However, just as Akio was about to step through the door, it slammed shut in front of him, and wouldn't budge.

"Hey!" He could hear Yukari exclaim, followed by banging on the door, "Yoshiro-san, what happened?"

"It looks like it wanted to split us up," Yoshiro shouted as a reply. "You two alright?"

"We're fine. You?" Minato asked from the other side of the door.

"_Akio, be careful! Behind you!" _Mitsuru warned him. He turned around to see several shadows appear out of the car itself, similar to the floating head that had lured Junpei away.

"I think I've got some company," he answered to the others on the other side, taking out his evoker as he said that. "Go ahead, I'll catch up."

"_No, that's just what the Shadow wanted! It's trying to split you up!" _Mitsuru protested.

"Well, it succeeded. Not much they could do from the other side of the sealed door," Yoshiro said sarcastically. "I'll meet you guys in the front car. I'm assuming that that's where the big one is, right, Senpai?"

"_Well yes, but… Minato, you're in charge of this operation. It's you're decision."_

Yoshiro kicked one shadow in the mean time, smashing it to the wall of the car and splattering it into ichor. He then jumped and drop-kicked another one, hearing a satisfying crunch as the head (he thinks it's a head) cracked open. "Go ahead, I'll be fine. These guys are pushovers," he prompted.

"Alright." Minato said through the door, "But catch up quickly."

"Sir, yes sir," Yoshiro replied jokingly, this time kneeing one of the shadows on the mask. That's three down and... one, two… four more to go. Does he even need to summon Charon for this?

Suddenly one of the shadow screeched and before he knew it he's hit by ice – bufu, he corrected himself – and was knocked back. Three subsequent screeches followed and he barely managed to dodge three more bufu spells thrown at him.

Well if that's the case…

BANG

"Mamudo!" he shouted, this time in his own voice, tapping the scythe that appeared in his hand to the ground the way that he remember he did, trying to picture it in his mind.. Like before, a black glyph appeared on the ground and shone.

Unlike before, only one of the shadows burst into ichor, and he rolled to dodge three more bufu attacks.

…Right, mudo skills have a _chance _of killing the enemy. He was just really, _really _lucky the other night. And he could tell that Mamudo drained a lot of sp.

He mentally facepalmed for his own stupidity.

"_**Perhaps next time you'll think before**__**acting."**_

That wasn't Mitsuru's voice. That sounded like Charon. Figures, he _is _his Persona. Is he going to talk in his head now, too?

"_**Only now and then, when you're being stupid."**_

"Shut up," he mumbled to himself, this time spinning and bringing the scythe in a horizontal arc. He doesn't know if it's luck or skill, but he caught all three shadows with that swipe, eliminating them all.

"_Pardon me, what did you say?" _Mitsuru asked coldly.

"Er, not you, Senpai. I was…talking to myself." He covered. "Is Minato and the others…?"

"_They're fine. They were attacked as well, but managed to fend the Shadows off and help Iori just in time." _Mitsuru informed him.

Well, that's one problem solved for him. Now, how to get out of this car…"

"_**You know, doors aren't the only way out."**_

Yoshiro blinked for a moment, then facepalmed. Of course. He walked up to one of the windows and smashed it with the butt of the scythe before climbing out, swinging up to the roof.

"_Was that vandalism necessary?" _Mitsuru asked him with an irritating tone.

Yoshiro was about to answer when he was nearly thrown off as the monorail started to move. Thankfully he had time to slice his scythe into the roof of the monorail, hanging on to it as the car's speed increase.

"_It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control. If we don't stop that thing, it'll crash into another train!" _Mitsuru said, the slightest hint of panic in her voice. _"Collision in three minutes!"_

That's not good.

Yoshiro carefully stood up, finding his balance on top of the moving train, and started running to the front of the monorail, careful not to get thrown off.

"_Two minutes thirty seconds!"_

He reached the front car. He could hear the sound of battling under him.

"_Two minutes twenty seconds! Akio, find a way to get inside and help the others, they're fighting the big one!"_

Find a way? That's easier said than done. Maybe if he…

He lifted the scythe as high as he dared without losing his balance and swung down, embedding it on the roof. He then concentrated on its tip and –

"Agi!" he shouted, sending the fire through his scythe , heating it to the point of softening the metal. He then jumped, anchoring himself with the scythe, and kicked the floor. Hard.

He burst through the floor, falling on top of… a giant, basically naked woman, half black, half white, with stupidly long hair and a shadow mask on her face.

Some things just can't be un-seen.

"Lilim!" He heard Minato shout, and he jumped off just as the Shadow got a face full of Zio, and landed near the others. Right, Minato told him that he could wield multiple Personas.

"Glad you could make the party," Minato said sarcastically. So he _does _have a sense of humor!

"Yaaah!" Junpei shouted, rushing the thing with his katana. The hair stopped him before he got close, though, knocking him down. "Gaah!"

"_Iori is down, help him!"_

Yoshiro stepped in front of him as another cluster of hair rushes to hit him, blocking them with his scythe. "You alright?" he asked Junpei, who nodded grudgingly.

"Man, this thing is tough!" he said. He and Yoshiro then rolled out of the way as another cluster of hairs smashed the stop they'd been.

One of the head-Shadows lunged at him. He smash kicked it, using its own momentum to kill it. The big Shadow summoned another one, but Yukari got to that one with her arrow before it even got close.

"_You have a minute forty seconds left! Hurry!"_

The Shadow screeched and cast a Bufu, hitting him square on the chest.

"Aagh," he exclaimed. This thing is definitely not an average shadow, because that hurt. Luckily, he heard an "Io!" followed by a refreshed feeling as Yukari's Persona healed him with a Dia.

Just as it hit him with another Bufu.

"Aagh!" He staggered back, shaking his head to regain his focus. The spell didn't deal too much damage, thank god.

"Mamudo!" He shouted as he slammed the butt of his scythe on the ground, aiming for an insta-kill. However, the thing didn't even seem to be fazed by it.

"_It's immune to Darkness! Mudo skills are useless!"_

…

_Now _she tells him!

"Dammit!" He cursed, again dodging as a cluster of hair smashed the spot he'd stood.

"Yah!" Yukari exclaimed as she loosed another arrow at the Shadow, piercing one of its breasts.

It did _not _like that.

It screeched and charged at Yukari, who was too stunned to move.

"Move!" Yoshiro shouted as he pushed her out of the way, taking the Shadow's blow square on his side. He could hear a small crack as one of his ribs broke, then a bigger one, as he was slammed to the wall of the car by the force of the impact. Now _that _hurts.

And yet somehow he managed to land on his feet.

"_**You're welcome," **_Charon whispered in his head. Alright, so it was his doing.

Yukari rushed to him while the others kept the thing occupied and cast a Dia on him. He could instantly feel his ribs mending. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I – "

"Later," he cut her off. "Senpai how long do we have?"

"_Fifty seconds! You don't have any more time!"_

He picked up his scythe and ran to help Junpei and Minato, slashing one of the damned hairs off as it came for him. He has an idea on how to beat this thing.

"Hey," He said as he came to their side, "Need a lift?" he asked, putting the blade of the scythe down on the ground. Junpei looked at him blankly, but Minato understood. He stepped on flat of the blade, and Yoshiro swung it upwards, launching Minato into the air, straight at the Shadow.

Minato stabbed it on the mask, using the momentum of the launch to bury his sword up to its hilt. The he took out his Evoker and shouted, "Orpheus!" before pulling the trigger and falling down.

Orpheus appeared, lifted its lire up high, and bashed the Shadow's head in.

"Now!" Yoshiro prompted to the rest, rushing and slashing the Shadow with his scythe. Junpei followed suit, hitting it with his katana as if going for a homerun. Yukari shot like crazy, trading accuracy for speed.

And the thing went down with a burst of ichor and a screech.

"Did we make it in time?" Junpei asked, breathing hard. Just then, the car lurched. "Hey! Zwhy're we still moving!"

"We're going too fast! We have to put on the brakes or else...!" Yukari screamed.

"I've got it!" Yoshiro and Minato shouted simultaneously, diving for the controls.

"Kyaah!" Yukari screamed.

The car grinded to a halt.

"D-did we stop?" Junpei asked, opening his eyes.

"I-I think so." Yukari said with a shaky voice.

"_Is everybody alright!" _Mitsuru asked through their earpieces.

"Uh, y – yeah, we're okay. Ha, haa… My knees are shaking," Yukari said with a relieved voice.

"Dude…I'm like drenched in sweat," Junpei agreed. He turned to Yoshiro, who had reverted back to his uniform, by his own will this time. Seems like he could control how long the transformations last if he tried. "But that was awesome dude, the way you launched Minato into the air! How did you know it was going to work?"

Yoshiro shrugged. "I didn't."

"What!" Junpei exclaimed. "That was crazy!"

"No, what's crazy was the fact that Minato knew which switch was the breaks," Yoshiro said, turning to him, "How did you knew?"

"I trusted my instincts," Minato said simply.

"Ah, whatever. Wanna grab a bite to eat? I'm freakin' hungry!" Junpei said. The others agreed and began to make their way back. They're already halfway on the tracks when something made him stop; a prickling feeling at the back of his neck. He turned quickly and barely caught the shadow of a figure jumping off the tracks. He rushed to the edge, but all that he could see is the blood-red water below.

Was that…

"Yoshiro – kun, What're you doing! Come on, or the Dark Hour'll end!" Yukari shouted up ahead.

"Alright," he said, his thoughts still on the shadowy figure. Could that have been…Momoka?

Wait, did Yukari just called him Yoshiro – kun?

…Ugh, he's too tired to think right now. Perhaps tomorrow…

* * *

><p>Whew, first full moon done.<p>

Anyway, I tried to stick to the original dialogue for the first half, but then I decided to change the battle to suit Yoshiro's presence there. Hopefully it satisfies.

Looking forward to the next chapter. Have big plans for it.


	6. Chapter 6

Whew, Chapter 6!

This did not turn out the way I expected. Just sorta wrote itself.

Another note; itallics serve two purposes during this chapter; Talking to Charon is one, Flashback is the other. Not that hard to guess which is which.

More after the chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Hanging Out and Remembering<p>

* * *

><p>Yoshiro did <em>not <em>feel better after sleeping.

He woke up with a bad taste in his mouth and a splitting headache, with barely enough energy to turn his stupid alarm off. Thank god he doesn't have to go to school today, it being Sunday and all.

Did he use up too much energy last night? He did throw around spells without much thought about it, but still, spells cost mental strength, not physical, so what's wrong?

…Maybe a few more hours of sleep would do him good.

* * *

><p>At around noon, he finally mustered enough energy to get up out of bed, and also to think.<p>

Last night, right after they beat that shadow, he knew he saw something, someone. He was absolutely positive of it. It had to be Momoka. But why did she run away like that?

...In any case, that was the first genuine clue he found since he had began searching. Before, he was only driven partly by instincts, partly by desperation. It worked, though, since it brought him here. And his instincts are telling him that he'll find her here.

...Enough thoughts, he's hungry.

He was partly surprised to see Minato alone in the lounge when he came down, seemingly doing nothing but listening to music on those headphones he always seem to wear. Since it's a Sunday, he had traded his uniform for casual clothes, which in this case is a grayish jacket, black pants, and loafers.

Yoshiro, for his part, had also put on his more casual clothing, a black windbreaker over a red t-shirt, with his jeans and black loafers, all well-worn. Clothing wasn't really a priority for him, even after he left the streets.

Minato had intrigued him since their first exchange. He comes across as the cool, calm, and capable type. But there was something about him…It's right there in front of him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hey," he greeted, "Where is everybody?"

He looked up with his usual borderline bored look. "They left a while ago," he answered simply. "Going out?"

Yoshiro thought for a moment. Was he planning to go out? He was really only going to find something to eat in the fridge. "Nah, just hungry. Couldn't very well stay in bed with a growling stomach," he answered. "Is there a good place to eat around here?"

"Well, we could go to Hagakure. They have really good ramen." Minato offered.

"How good?" Yoshiro asked.

Minato actually grinned. "You'll see."

* * *

><p>Yoshiro wolfed down the bowl of ramen in front of him, barely pausing to take breaths, until the only thing inside his bowl is empty air. He leaned back, taking a deep breath.<p>

"Oh. My. God." He breathed contentedly. "That was…heaven…"

He looked at Minato, who's eating at a much more human pace.

…Until he noticed the three empty bowls next to him.

"Damn," Yoshiro said with a whistle, "How did you eat so much?"

Minato looked up at him and shrugged before returning to his fourth meal.

"Ah, whatever, it's no business of mine," He said, reaching for his wallet to pay for the meal before realizing that it's empty. He bit his lip. "Damn," he murmured, turning to Minato. "Hey, could you spot me some money? I...sorta forgot that I ran out."

Minato raised an eyebrow.

Oops, him and his big mouth. Perhaps he should explain "…If you must know, I've been moving a lot the past few months so I hadn't been able to get a job or anything like that, so I don't have much spending money. I get by, though," Yoshiro added quickly, "The people paying my tuition aren't going to let me go hungry, just…sometimes I miscalculated and ran out before their next allowance. That's all." He chuckled, "But don't worry, I know what it's like to go hungry, so I'm always fine until they send me more money."

Minato shrugged. "Sure." He said, subsequently paying for the five bowls they had eaten.

"Thanks, Minato." He said before facepalming inside his head. His bad habit had started to kick in again. "I mean, Minato-san."

Minato looked at him before smilling. "Don't worry, I don't mind, as long as you don't mind me calling you Yoshiro."

Yoshiro breathed a sigh of relief in his mind. No need to offend anyone more than he needs to, especially Minato. "Alright then, deal. Now let's get back before – is something wrong?" He asked Minato, who had a faraway look on his face before frowing.

"Nothing," He replied. "Say, Yoshiro, your persona is of the Death Arcana, right?"

Well that was an odd question. "Yeah. Still not sure what that means, though," he answered.

"It's based off the major arcanas in a tarot deck," Minato explained before standing up and heading to the door, mumbling something to himself. Yoshiro quickly followed. He caught some of Minato's words, but they only served to confuse him.

What does a star have to do with the Death Arcana?

* * *

><p>Everyone was already there, relaxing in the dorm when he and Minato arrived. From what he could gather from their faces, Junpei and Yukari are still tired from the previous night's operation, but they're making an effort in not making it show.<p>

"Oh, hey, where've you been?" Yukari asked them as they walked in.

"Minato was showing me heaven in the guise of a ramen shop," he answered somewhat jokingly.

"Oh, you went to Hagakure? Man, why didn't you tell me? I would've come!" Junpei said, all traces of edginess from last night gone from his voice. "You know how much I loved their food." He said to Minato, who merely shrugged.

"You weren't there," Minato answered simply.

"Ah, whatever," Junpei said somewhat resignedly. "But man, was I beat. Last night was tough."

"Yeah. I don't know what would have happened if Minato-kun hadn't hit the right switch at that moment," Yukari agreed, "My knees still goes weak when I think about it."

"It would've been a lot worse if Yoshiro wasn't there," Minato pointed out. The others, surprisingly, nodded in agreement. They weren't at all surprised that Minato didn't use honorifics.

"Yeah. Would've been skewered if you hadn't saved my sorry ass," Junpei admitted.

"And I would've been crushed if you hadn't jumped in the way, Yoshiro-kun." Yukari agreed, "How's your ribs, by the way?"

"Ah, he'll be fine. We men are made of tougher stuff than that," Junpei said jokingly.

"Can it, Stupei, it's a serious question," Yukari barked at Junpei.

"I'm fine. I almost forgot that I got hit there in fact," Yoshiro assured, "Your healing skills were amazing. Guess I know why you're our healer."

"Hey, I'm the one that's supposed to be thanking you, not the other way around," Yukari said, somewhat embarrassed, "But are you sure you're okay? You got hit pretty hard last night, but you seem to be doing better than the rest of us."

"Obviously you weren't there this morning. I couldn't move a single muscle. I was only able to get up at around noon," Yoshiro stated truthfully. "And besides, Minato looks better off than me."

"He always looks like that," Junpei said, waving away the comment. Minato didn't seem to mind that, though. Must've known that Junpei was joking. Or didn't care. Oh well, he chuckled anyway. The tense atmosphere that was between them yesterday is all but gone now. Must be something to do with nearly dying together.

Yoshiro stretched. "Well, I'm still kinda tired. G'night," He said, heading up the stairs.

"Night," Yukari replied.

"You're going to bed this early?" Junpei remarked, "Eh, whatever. See ya in the morning dude."

Minato replied with a nod.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Hey again."<strong>

_Great. He's back in the fields, standing in front of Charon, who_still_held his head down._

…_Is it just him, or is the place different? It's still pretty empty, but the feel in the air is nowhere near as stagnant, almost lighter._

"**You've noticed?"**_Charon asked as if reading his thoughts,_**"This place is a reflection of your soul. Seems lighter, doesn't it?"**

"_A little," he agreed._

"**Wonder why?"**_Charon asked mischievously._

_He shrugged. "No clue," he said. "But if we're going to meet like this all the time, then I'd appreciate it if I could see your face."_

_Charon chuckled._**"Well, it's really nothing special,"**_He said, starting to raise his head to reveal…_

_He stared at the face, at the pale skin, the deep black eyes, the black hair. He knows that face. After all, he sees it in the mirror every day._

_It's his face._

"**Why are you so surprised?"**_Charon asked, twisting his face into a mischievous smile,_**"I'm a reflection of you, remember? Why is it so odd that I would have your face?"**

"_The other's Personae didn't have such a resemblance," He replied curtly._

"**The others also doesn't**_**turn**_**into their Persona."**_Charon pointed out._

"…_Fair enough," He said, still a little weirded out by Charon's face. "Anyway, is this going to be a regular thing? 'Cause if it is, it's going to be damn annoying."_

"**Don't worry, This won't happen every time you fall asleep,"**_Charon assured,_**"And no, I also won't be able to talk in your head all the time either. Just when you're using my powers."**

"_Good, then. Is there a particular reason why we're talking right now?"_

"**Just wanted to congratulate you on surviving last night. You seem to be getting a hang of using my powers."**

"_Well, thanks. Is that all?" He asked. Charon nodded._

"**That's it. That, and I wanted to show you the change in this place."**

"_Not much of a change if you ask me," Yoshiro remarked, "Now, if you'd please, I really need the rest."_

"**I'd like to point out that you'd rest just the same even when you're 'here'. But very well."**_A soft mist started to rise in the fields, growing thicker by the second._**"Sweet dreams."**

* * *

><p>"<em>Thanks for coming with me, Yoshiro!" Momoka exclaimed happily, then her expression turned sullen. "Sorry I kept you out so long."<em>

"'_s fine, Momoka, I wasn't doing anything anyway," Yoshiro assured. They're walking away from the train station, returning from a concert. The full moon shone brightly above them._

"_Still, I didn't expect it to run this late," Momoka said with a pout, fixing her long br0wn hair, "It's nearly midnight."_

"_I'm sure Tou-san and Oka-san wouldn't mind." Yoshiro said again._

"_Geez, Yoshiro, the way you said that makes you sound as if we're related or something," Momoka said with another pout._

"_Well it does feel that way sometimes, seeing how I always have to clean up after your mess," Yoshiro teased, "It's like I'm your butler or something."_

"_Oh, shut up," Momoka said, punching his arm, "Idiot."_

"_You're a bigger one," he retorted before they both laughed._

"_Say, Yoshiro," Momoka said after the laughter stopped. She turned beet red, and started to play with her fingers. "Would you mind…"_

_Whatever she was going to say was cut off as midnight struck. Instantly everything around them turned a sickly green. The street lamps turned off and the person that had been walking in front of them inexplicably turned into a coffin._

"_Wh-wha…" Yoshiro stammered unbelievingly._

_Then Momoka started to scream._

_That scream turned into a laugh, the most horrid he had ever heard, something not human._

_Before Yoshiro knew what was going on tendrils of darkness lashed out and hit him._

* * *

><p>His eyes snap open.<p>

He sat up, head in his hands, panting. His body won't stop shaking.

"Damn," he murmured bitterly. Of all the things to dream about, why that memory?

That laughter echoed in his ears and he shuddered. He hadn't been able to forget about it, just like everything else.

Damn his photographic memory.

…It's time to go to school. He should get ready. He could wallow in grief later.

* * *

><p>Any of you guessed what the first part with Minato was about? Here's a hint; Social *cough* Links *cough*<p>

So, yeah... character development plus foreshadowing plus backstory. Go me!

And still no reviews *sad face*. I don't care if you think this is bad, but I would really appreciate any feedback. As I've said, this is my first project, and I'm kinda flying blind right now. Any review'd help guide the story along.

And yes. I do realize that I'm begging.

Anyway, I'm gonna slow down the pace I'm dishing out these chapters from now on since life hates me. Hopefully it won't be too long before the next chapter'd be then.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello All!

I'm really, terribly sorry about this late update. My excuse? Exams, Life, Writer's Block, Life, Touhou...

Did I mention Life?

So, yeah... I had to struggle to figure out what I was going to put for this chapter. Cause, really, _nothing_ happens story-wise in the week leading up to the midterm.

Painful chapter is painful.

Also, I'm going to start to give music to boss battles. Why? Cause music adds to the atmosphere. And cause I feel like it. And since there's a (short) boss battle in the end, here's the music.

http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=Q9E3VR8Fnj0

Why this one? Well, it fits the battle more in my point of view.

I'm going to stop my rant now and let you (hopefully) enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: First (Official) Trip to Tartarus<p>

* * *

><p>Yoshiro bumped into Minato and Junpei in front of the school gate.<p>

"Wazzup?" Junpei greeted, "Today is just an ordinary day, huh? That was crazy though, the day before yesterday. I've never had that kinda thrill in all my life." Junpei paused for a moment. "Don't you think it's been getting more exciting lately?"

"Yeah," Minato answered.

"Hmm, I guess," Yoshiro mumbled noncommittally, his mind still on the dream last night. What a way to remember.

"Dude, you alright?" Junpei asked him, "You look kinda tired."

Yoshiro forced himself to smile. "Oh, just had a bad dream last night. Nothing to worry about."

Junpei shrugged. "If you say so."

The rest of the day passed by like a blur. Yoshiro vaguely remembers Mr. Ekoda saying something about midterm exams, but he honestly couldn't care less. Not being able to forget stuff does give him an edge, after all. His mind is focused elsewhere – on the dream, or rather memory, of the night that Momoka disappeared.

He got up and stretched. School was over not long ago, and most of the other students already left to do whatever for the rest of the afternoon. He honestly has nothing to do, so he might as well return to the dorm and flip through his notes for the exams. Even if he doesn't need to study, feigning it would be nice. It'll at least kill some time until the others return to the dorm.

By the time everyone else returned, Yoshiro had managed to flip through his notes three times, and is currently laid out on the couch, trying to find something good on the TV. He's failing, so far.

"Dude, how long've you been here?" Junpei asked.

"Since school ended," he replied with a yawn. He's bored now, but he's glad that he is. At least it means he's getting over the dream.

Or maybe his mind's just got used to it playing over and over in his head.

...Oh god he hopes not.

"Hey, how 'bout we go to Tartarus tonight?" He asked, the question directed at Minato. He'd gotten up to speed with the entire "explore the nest of shadows" business the day before during his conversations with Minato. He liked the idea of it. Certainly saves him the trouble of sneaking out and going into the tower himself. Only, the one who gets to decide is Minato, being their acting leader and all.

Minato seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. "I'll let Mitsuru-senpai know."

Yukari groaned while Junpei seemed excited.

"Do we have to? Exams are next week," Yukari complained.

"Oh, come on, Yuka-tan, lighten up," Junpei said. Either he's totally prepared for the exams or, more likely, he's trying to worm out of studying.

Yoshiro's money is in the later.

* * *

><p>They arrived right in front of the school before midnight, and Yoshiro saw for the first time how the school transformed into Tartarus. It baffled him how something so huge could rise out of nowhere like that.<p>

Oh well.

A quick lecture from Mitsuru later (something about warp panels and following Minato's instructions and all that) they stepped on the warp panel and appeared on the first block of Tartarus – Thebel, the block he inadvertently went to the first time he was here.

"Alright, let's work our way back up to the floor with the barrier," Minato instructed, "Yoshiro, how about you take the lead? I need to see how to work you into our strategy."

"So basically I just have to plow through whatever enemies we encounter?" Yoshiro asked, already liking the idea.

Minato nodded. "Finding the stairs is the priority though."

"Got it."

"_Also, Akio, please refrain from maintaining your Persona for any long durations like the other night."_

Hello Misturu. "Why?" Yoshiro asked, "It'll be less of a hassle if I just stay in that form."

"_Regardless, it's a wise precaution. We're still not certain how much energy you would have to use to keep it for long durations."_

Yoshiro was about to argue with her, but he remembered how he felt the morning after their encounter with the big shadow.

…Yeah, she might be right.

Yoshiro sighed. "Fine, fine. Can we go now?" he asked Minato, who nodded in reply. "Great. Let's go!"

* * *

><p>…That was pathetic.<p>

To put it simply, Yoshiro ripped through the shadows before the others even have a chance to get their evokers out.

Granted, he only rampaged through one floor, but…

…He did it without even summoning his Persona!

Now they're at a floor that's pretty much empty except for a glowing warp panel and stairs at the far end, behind some sort of barricade. So this must be the barrier.

"Dude…" Junpei said, an awed look on his face, "What was that! You didn't even look like you _tried_ back there!"

Yoshiro shrugged. "Well, Mitsuru-senpai told me not to use Charon too much, so I didn't" he answered.

"But still… wait, what level is your Persona?" Junpei asked him.

"Fourteen. Why?" he answered.

The others gave him blank stares. Well, Junpei and Yukari did. Minato just looked oblivious. Like always.

"Is that… bad?" he asked them.

"Bad! Man, Mine's only level _eight_!" Junpei said incredulously.

"Same here," Yukari said.

…

Oh, well that… explains a whole lot.

"…_In any case, it seems that the barrier is gone now, so you can explore further up. Proceed with caution." _

"Great," Yoshiro said eagerly. He didn't find any signs of Momoka in the previous floors, in any case. She must be higher up. He'll find her…

Minato seemed to be deep in thought for a while. He hadn't said anything since they started exploring. "…Yoshiro, what skills does your Persona have?" He asked him now.

"Huh? … Right, I never did tell you guys, did I?" he said. "Guess things went pretty fast the last few days."

"Well we know he can use agi and mamudo, right? What else?" Junpei said dismissively.

"Well, Charon also knows bufu, garu, and zio," Yoshiro added.

The others stared at him like he was crazy. Again.

Great…

"Okay, what is it now?" he asked. This is starting to get old.

"That's… a lot of spells." Yukari commented. "Mine only knows Dia, Patra, and Garu."

If he could remember correctly (not too hard with his memory) Dia and Patra are both support spells. So Yukari basically only has one offensive skill.

"And Hermes only knows Cleave and Agi," Junpei said.

So it's not normal to have five offensive spells right now?

…Huh.

"…In any case, let's try and get to the next guardian before the Dark Hour ends," Minato continued. The others nodded, but Yoshiro can't help but still feel the awkwardness of the previous moments in the air.

...Oh well, not much he could do about things now.

* * *

><p>The next – block, is it? –looks radically different than the previous one. For one thing everything is purple-ish. For another, the block looks less like the school hallway and like… well… Perhaps Junpei summed it up the best that first step in.<p>

"The hell! Why is there a face on the wall!"

…Yeah…

The shadows in this block are different than the ones they encountered in Thebel. Stronger too.

"Charon!"

BANG!

SHLEEEK

Though they're still just scythe fodder.

"_**That's it? Come on, where're the tough shadows?"**_Charon complained in his head. He frowned and sent Charon away, turning the scythe back into his evoker. Hearing Charon in his head is definitely going to take getting used to. Well, at least he's only there when he's invoked.

Still, he is getting annoyed. They've blazed a trail through several floors, and still no hint of Momoka. They've even started to split up to cover more area (that and Junpei and Yukari really needs the extra combat experience.) Seriously, where is she? He's sure he didn't imagine the voice he heard that night. Did she move to a higher floor?

"_Akio."_

But how did she manage to make it through the shadows? Granted, the shadows here are weak (or is he just strong?) but that's because he has Charon.

"_Akio."_

Does that mean that Momoka somehow has a Persona too? It seems plausible.

"_Akio."_

But then why did she go crazy that first night? Because of her Persona? In that case, why didn't he and the others!

"_Akio, do you want to be executed that badly?"_

That snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Ah, sorry, Mitsuru–Senpai, I was lost in thought. What is it?" he asked.

"_Iori found the stairs. Minato had instructed for everyone to head there," _Mitsuru said, a more than annoyed tone in her voice. _"I'll give you the directions."_

"Oh, right. Tell them I'll be right there," he said into the headpiece.

"_Honestly it doesn't –" _Mitsuru started to say, no doubt meaning to lecture him before she stopped midsentence. _"Akio, get to the stair room, now," _Mitsuru said, an undertone of urgency in her voice.

"What? What's the matter?" he asked a second before he heard it, coming from behind him.

The sounds of chains.

"_Akio! Get out of there! I sense Death!" _Mitsuru practically screamed this time.

At this point, there are two things running in his head. One is the shock of the normally calm Mitsuru yelling with fear like that.

The other is pure fear.

He didn't even need to see the source of the sound. Every fiber in his being is screaming for him to run away. That if he stayed there, he _will_ die.

And without a second thought, he bolted.

"_No, to the left! Now, right! Come on, you're almost there!" _Mitsuru frantically guided him through the floor.

The sound of the chains kept on pursuing him.

On an impulse he jumped to the right, just as something – a hama spell, his gut tells him – shot through the place he had been. He turned his head enough to see his pursuer, and the sight chilled him to the bone. A specter – like form, wielding revolvers with ridiculously long barrels in each hand, a terrible eye piercing through his soul the only thing that could be seen on its bandage covered head.

It aimed at him again.

Yoshiro scrambled and jumped away just as another hama spell burst through the space he was.

At that point he simply ran blindly, letting his survival instincts tell him where to leap to dodge the onslaught of spells. With Charon's weakness to light, he knew that getting hit by one of those spells would result in an instant knock out.

Followed by a swift death.

Miraculously, he managed to not get hit by the hama barrage, and even more miraculously, he could see the stair room straight ahead, and with a final, desperate burst of energy he jumped.

Yes! He's going to make it!

"Aaargh!" he yelled. One of the hama bullets actually hit him!

…Shit, he's losing consciousness…

* * *

><p>"Gah! The hell!" he choked, trying to spit out whatever god-awful thing that was put in his mouth.<p>

Someone sighed, "Whew, that was really scary,"

"Dude, are you alright?"

He snapped his eyes open to find his friends looking at him with worry.

"Ugh, what was that?" he said, the horrible taste still in his mouth.

"A revival bead. Guaranteed to wake you up," Junpei said jokingly.

"Right…" Yoshiro said, rubbing his aching head. "What happened?"

"What happened? You were nearly a gonner, Dude! But Minato managed to pull you here before 'it' reached you."

_It?_ Yoshiro thought, still rubbing the back of his head. Then he remembered. That…thing that was chasing him. What was…

"Ah!" he exclaimed, seeing the monstrosity again, right outside the stair room.

…Wait, why isn't it…

"Relax. It won't follow us here," Minato said, as if sensing his thoughts.

Ah…

He looked at the thing again carefully. It's… definitely not a shadow, he could tell. No, it's something… more sinister, more powerful, something that could slaughter them all in an instant in a head to head fight without even an effort.

"What is that?" he asked the others after he regained his wits.

"That," Minato said, "is the Reaper. It comes after us if we spend too long on a floor."

"The Reaper…" Yoshiro mumbled.

"Anyway, how do you feel? Think you're up for another battle?" Minato asked him, "Looks like there's a floor guardian next floor."

Yoshiro struggled to his feet. "If it's not as powerful as that Reaper, I'm still game." He assured. He really needs something to do to dispel that feeling the Reaper gave him.

"Alright then. What about you guys?" He asked the others. They also agreed quite readily.

And with that they all ascended up the stairs to the next floor.

"_I detect 3 shadows in this floor's central area. Proceed with caution," _Mitsuru said through the earpiece.

What they found were three tables, with the magician's mask in front over red and black checkered table cloth. Flaming things also float above them.

Well, doesn't take a genius to figure out what these things are weak to.

"Charon!" Yoshiro exclaimed, feeling the evoker in his hand turn into a scythe. "Bufu!" He said, casting the spell on one of the Shadows, catching it square on the mask, knocking it down from the blow.

"Bufu! Bufu!" He cast the spell in quick succession on the other two tables, knocking them down as well.

"Here's our chance for an All-Out Attack!" Yukari exclaimed.

The others had explained the concept of the All-Out Attack to him some floors before. Basically, it entails bum-rushing the enemy and attacking wildly until a big dust cloud of violence appears, and keep it up until the enemy regains their balance. He likes the concept very much. And it's very satisfying to do it too.

"Jack Frost!" Minato exclaimed, summoning his persona – well, one of them, in any case. A white snowman with a blue hat and a silly grin on its face appeared and cast a bufu on one of the tables, knocking it down again. He did the same with the other two.

Another dust cloud ensued as they All-Out Attacked the tables again.

Between the two of them, they managed to continuously rain icy death on the Tables until they explode into nothing.

Yoshiro stared at the space where the tables were moments before.

"Well that was pathetic," he remarked, dismissing Charon. The others also seemed to share his sentiments.

"Man, I didn't even get to do anything," Junpei complained.

"What are you talking about, Stupei? Your swing nearly took my head off back there!" Yukari scolded.

Yoshiro resists the urge to ask her why she rushes in during All-Out Attacks even though she has a bow. Lots of things that they do wouldn't make much sense in the first place. He should really work on suspending his disbelief.

"How about we go back? The Dark Hour's almost over," Minato suggested, "We'll continue another night."

* * *

><p>Next chapter is gonna time skip through the exams. Cause I seriously cannot think of anything happening there.<p>

Also, should I switch to first person perspective, or should I stay in third?

And also, please review! I'm begging you! Review=food for writers, and I'm about to die of starvation here! Any review would only make this story better, so please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Alright, short chapter, but I filled it with some important stuff, backstory-wise.

And, well, I suppose here's as good a place as any to address the review I got.

**True. Oblivion: **Thanks, I appreciate that! I will try to post more frequently. And, well, yes, I suppose he is a little OP'd, but that's on purpose, and it won't last. Don't worry, I have plans for him *laughs maniacally*

Edit: Haha, silly me, I forgot the chapter title.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Boredom, Guilt, and Time-Skipped Midterms<p>

* * *

><p>The day after their trip to Tartarus, Minato announced that until the midterm exams are over, the expeditions to Tartarus would be put on hold. Mitsuru backed him up, claiming that, despite what they've been through, they are still students, and as such should put their studies first.<p>

Yoshiro wanted to argue that he didn't _need _to study, what with his photographic memory and all.

Then he looked at Junpei.

And he had to agree with their sentiments in that respect.

Of course, that had put him in quite a dilemma. After all, the reason he joined them in the first place is to search that tower for Momoka. And spending the next two weeks not going there is definitely _not _helping his cause.

He contemplated sneaking to Tartarus himself, but two reasons held him back. One is the Reaper. If he comes across it alone, he might as well kiss his life goodbye.

The other one is Mitsuru and her execution threats.

So he decided to suck it up and go with it.

This is going to be a long two weeks.

* * *

><p>Boy, was he right. Nothing happened. At all.<p>

Well, he did try and research about the Dark Hour. That turned up nothing.

But then, on Sunday night, he received a call from Tou-san and Oka-san.

"_Hello, Yoshiro, how've you been?"_ Tou-san had asked him. _"Are you well?"_

The same deal as most of their calls, really.

"Yes, Tou-san, I am." He answered back as cheerfully as he could.

"_Hello, Yoshiro?" _That was Oka-san's voice. She must've took the phone from Tou-san. _"Dear, how are you? You've been eating well haven't you?"_

All in all, it would've been your typical conversation between worried parents and their son.

"Yes I have, Oka-san."

Except they weren't his parents. No, his parents died a long time ago, before he could remember. All he could remember of his early childhood is the streets he grew up in.

They were Momoka's.

"_Oh, that's good, that's good! How're you getting along with your friends from school? You've made some, right?"_

They found him five years ago. He'd half a mind that they're reincarnations of those European saints. They gave him a place to stay, and even treated him like family. They were the only 'family' he ever knew.

"It hasn't even been a month, Oka-san. Of course I haven't," he answered jokingly, trying really hard to keep his voice upbeat.

"_Oh, well that won't do, Dear. You're in High School! You should be surrounded by friends! Life is short, you know," _Oka-san's voice saddened a little. And he knew why.

The incident. Momoka disappearing.

"Oka-san…" he started to say, trying to cheer her up.

"_Oh, don't worry, Dear, I'm fine. It's just…still so hard. None of us deserved what happened, her especially." _He heard Oka-san say.

Of course. To them, Momoka might as well be dead after being missing for so long. What they and the police believed is that that night as he and Momoka were walking home, some sort of psychopath jumped them, butchered him close to death with an unknown weapon, and took off with Momoka.

He couldn't tell them that what really happened was the fact that everything turned green and Momoka herself nearly killed him before disappearing just like that. Because they would never believe him. And because he never would've believed it himself if not for the fact that the night after that the Dark Hour as he now knows it returned.

_She's not dead, damn it! _He wanted to yell. But saying that would only serve to hurt Oka-san. And he couldn't bear to do that. So instead he answered. "I'll try Oka-san, right after Midterms are over."

"_Oh, right, you have Midterms! Why silly us, we really shouldn't bother you like this then! Well, we'll just leave you to your studying then Dear."_

He would've been relieved if not for the fact that he felt so guilty. "Alright, Oka-san. Say goodnight to Tou-san for me."

"_I will, dear."_

And with that the call ended, leaving him feeling – well, bad doesn't even begin to cover it. He wanted to be there for them, but he knew that that wouldn't help. No, the best thing he could do is to keep on searching.

Well, at least the next day exams start. Of course, they're a joke for someone like him, but at least it'll get his mind out of the call.

* * *

><p>He sighed, stretching in his desk. Well, exams are over and done with.<p>

"Whew, how does it feel to be free! This is what matters about exams!" Junpei exclaimed excitedly before his face fell, "But man, I'll be depressed once I see my score."

"I'll bet money on that," he said, feeling a bit snarky. Junpei's expression turned to annoyance.

"Hey, you don't have to – ah, whatever, you'd probably be worse off than me anyway."

Well, no, actually, he's pretty confident he'll get top marks. But he didn't say anything, cause that would just be mean. So instead he just shrugged and made his way back to the dorm alone, like always.

Shortly after everyone else arrived, there was news that Akihiko had fully recovered, so they all gathered on the table in the lounge to congratulate him.

"Senpai, I hear you're fully healed!" Yukari said.

"Congrats, man!" Junpei said.

And Akihiko's reply? "I need to catch up on my training. I've slacked off for a whole month."

Yeah. Akihiko's definitely a battle junkie.

But he's not about to say anything about that.

Yukari did, though. "Shouldn't you take it easy, though? You don't wanna reinjure your arm."

"I've already wasted precious time. Besides, we found another persona user."

Yoshiro tensed for a second. Could it be?

"We did! Sweet! Is it a girl…?" Junpei, being the person that he is, asked.

"Actually, it is." Yoshiro's mind is racing. But his hopes were dashed by Akihiko's next words. "She's a junior who goes to our school. Fuuka Yamagishi… Do you guys know her?"

Of course. Of course it's not Momoka. He should've known that. After all, Momoka's been missing for nearly seven months now. She wouldn't just turn up just like that. Still, no one could blame him for hoping…

"Yamagishi...? Oh, that girl in 2-E... She gets sick a lot, from what I heard... I don't see her at school very often."

The conversation continued, but at that point he was in no mood to be talking.

"She was at the same hospital as me. That's how we found out about her. But, maybe she's not cut out for battle. I had an Evoker made for her, too..." Akihiko continued.

Yoshiro stood up and left just as Junpei's mouth got him into trouble again. The others don't seem to notice too.

Heh, good for them.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, there was a knock on his door.<p>

"Yoshiro, you alright?"

It's Minato's voice. Reluctantly, he went to the door, making sure to put on his casual face as he opened it. Minato looked… well, like he always looked, really. The guy's expression doesn't change all that much.

"Yeah, sure," he answered, forcing himself to smile. In truth, he felt horrible, but it's his own problem, so…

"Really? You didn't look that way when you left the lounge."

Right. Minato was there. Funny how Yoshiro didn't notice.

"Oh, yeah, well, I'm not feeling too well. Must be worn down by the exams," he said, quickly making an excuse.

"Even though you didn't seem too worried about them at all last week?"

Yoshiro was dumbfounded. How the heck did he know? What is this guy, psychic?

…Well, considering all the other crazy stuff that's happening around here, he honestly wouldn't be surprised.

"…It's nothing," he said, defensively, "And it's really none of your business."

Minato sighed. "Well, I won't pry if you don't want to tell me, then," he said.

And then he turned around and went back into his own room, leaving Yoshiro there, baffled by what just happened.

"Argh, forget it," he said exasperatedly after a while, closing his door and retreating to his room. Tomorrow; he'll sort all this out tomorrow, after sleeping.

* * *

><p>…For once, sleep actually helped him. He woke up refreshed, and as he started to think about it, he realized that Minato was concerned about him last night. He doesn't know why; maybe he's just fulfilling his role as 'team leader,' maybe he's just the type of person that cares about people, but no matter what Minato was concerned.<p>

And Yoshiro treated him like a jerk.

So it was luck of some sort that he bumped into Minato in the lounge as he came down. The guy didn't seem to mind what happened, but Yoshiro really couldn't tell with his expression.

"Well, you feel like going to Hagakure, then? It'll be my treat, since I still haven't paid you back from last time," he offered.

He knew this is going to eat up a good part of the money that Tou-san and Oka-san sent him just the other day, but oh well.

* * *

><p>Thankfully Minato only had two bowls this time.<p>

"Seriously, where do you put all that food?" he asked, "You finished those before I was even halfway done!"

Minato merely shrugged.

Yoshiro shook his head with mock sadness. "I'm starting to regret treating you," he said, making sure that he didn't say that seriously. Minato seemed to get it.

It's really nice hanging out with this guy.

He sighed. "Hey, Minato, about yesterday…" he said in a more subdued tone.

"It's alright," Minato said. And from his body language, Yoshiro knew that he meant it.

"Heh, you're really not the type that holds grudges, are you?" he said jokingly, "Still, consider this my apology." He sighed. "Which means I still need to pay you back for last time, great." Again, he laughed to show that he's joking. It's not like he really minded.

He noticed the faraway look again in Minato's face, but it left almost as soon as it appeared, so he didn't say anything.

"So, mind if I ask when we're going to Tartarus again?" he asked after he finished his bowl.

"Soon," Minato answered, "Maybe Tuesday."

He grinned. "Great. Can't wait."

* * *

><p>Yeah... not much action in this chapter. I'll make up for it in the next one.<p>

So, as usual, please review_. _Any comments, concerns, and/or queries will only help make this story better.


	9. Chapter 9

Yay! New chapter is finished! And it actually went exactly how I planned it!

There is a Boss battle, but it's another Guardian, so Mass Destruction works for the music (cause it's better than Master of Tartarus in every way!)

**True. Oblivion:** Well...that wholly depends on how you define 'interact.' I think that it's suffice to say that right now SEES don't even _know_ about Momoka. Well, _most_ of SEES in any case.

And now, onwards with the chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Close Call<p>

* * *

><p>The next day is Monday, and exams results should be posted.<p>

Yoshiro saw Minato and Yukari at the gate as he's walking in. They're talking (Well, Yukari's talking, Minato's just listening) about Junpei and exam results and something about the girl they were talking about the other day, the one he had-hoped-to-be-but-is-not Momoka. He didn't try and listen further, partly because eavesdropping, despite its uses, is wrong, mostly because he really wasn't paying attention.

At lunch, the exam results were posted on the bulletin board outside. There was a nice big group of students around it, trying to find out their score. And despite not really caring that much about his scores, Yoshiro went and looked anyway.

And that was when he realized the mistake he made.

Because of the call from Tou-san and Oka-san, he weren't at all focused during the exams. So he was basically on auto-pilot the entire length of the exams. If he's a regular student, that's a guarantee that his scores would be bad. But since he's him…

He scored highest in class. With a perfect score.

…

Damn it!

He could already feel the other students' eyes on him, along with the accompanying murmurs. He should be happy, of course. After all, to achieve a perfect score on exams would be a student's dream.

…Unless said student wants to do everything possible to _not_ get noticed.

In which case, it's a death flag.

If only he could bang his head on the bulletin board without drawing any more attention to himself.

Well, there's absolutely no way to _not_ get noticed by people now. And just when he could feel the hype of him being a transfer student dying down.

…Tomorrow shadows are definitely going to feel the wrath of misplaced anger.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, through the combined power of zoning out, early sleep, and a hell of a lot of willing the clock to move faster (it works if you really, really, really want it to) Yoshiro was able to survive the constant eyes on his back and make it to Tuesday night. And, as Minato said, they all went to Tartarus.<p>

Well, all minus Junpei. The guy really seemed depressed for some mysterious reason, and didn't come with them to Tartarus. Yoshiro had this feeling that it might've had something to do with how he did on the exams.

Speaking of exams…

"Charon!"

"_Screee!"_

Ah, the marvelous glory that is a scythe.

To rewind a bit, they had just warped back to the floor where the tables that they decimated were and took the stairs up. And as soon as they arrived at the next floor, they found shadows just waiting to be beat up.

So Yoshiro did. With his scythe.

Go misplaced anger.

Of course, after taking out his anger on the unsuspecting shadows (and a serious scolding from Mitsuru via headset) they proceeded pretty much the same way that they did the last time they were in Tartarus, the only difference being that Akihiko's there instead of Junpei.

Akihiko, for one, is a very reliable fighter. Being a boxer and all, it's no surprise that he used his fists for fighting. His Persona, Polydeuces, can use zio, sonic punch, and dia. Basically, it could have the choice of zapping or pummeling a shadow to death, while also having the ability to heal. Pretty nice.

They continued to push through Tartarus without much resistance. Seems like between Minato and himself they could knock most of the shadows off balance quite easily, and big dust clouds of violence erupts like there's no tomorrow. Akihiko usually goes and finish off whatever survived the All-Out Attacks, while Yukari sniped them from a distance, her healing almost never needed.

Then they arrived at floor 31, where there are absolutely no shadows at all in the floor. Of course, a few minutes

"_Be careful, I sense Death!"_

"Oh, shit," Yoshiro murmured, the feeling of dread returning. He is _not_ ready for another round of tag with the Reaper.

"We better find the stairs quick." Minato said calmly but with a slight urgency in his voice. You know it's bad when even _Minato_ starts to panic.

Thankfully, they were lucky and found the stair room shortly after, and they moved to the next floor just as the sound of rattling chains drew close. After that, thankfully they returned to the regular "beat the crap out of any shadow that crossed our path" routine. It wasn't long before they reached the next Guardian's floor.

What awaited them is a…statue. A white statue.

"_Its Arcana is the Empress. It's a Guardian, so it'll be a difficult fight!"_ Mitsuru said with all her divine wisdom over the earpiece. Very helpful, Mitsuru, very helpful.

"Charon!" he exclaimed, bringing the evoker up to his temple. A moment later he rushed towards the shadow, swinging the scythe horizontally. It hit the shadow and rocked it back a little, but there were no

"Help me!" Yukari said, summoning her persona and using a garu to blast the shadow with wind. That did less than nothing.

"Wind attacks aren't working!" Yukari exclaimed.

The shadow screeched and immediately after that it _opened_, releasing a bigger blast of wind that hit all of them at once.

"Gah! The hell was that!" Yoshiro exclaimed, having felt the full force of the spell. That didn't feel like any garu spell he'd been hit with before.

"_**Probably cause it wasn't a Garu. Probably a Garula spell."**_ Charon remarked in his mind.

"A what?" he asked out loud.

"_**Stronger version of Garu. Well, since it hit all of us, Magarula is more accurate. Look out, here comes another one."**_

Yoshiro barely had time to bring his scythe forward to defend himself as another blast of powerful wind hit him. Thankfully it didn't hurt as bad this time, thanks to Charon's warning.

"_**Praise later. We're still in a pinch."**_

He's right. One look at the others tells it all. Akihiko is still on his feet, but leaning on his knees. Minato also isn't looking too good. And although Yoshiro isn't as badly hurt as them, that first Magarula spell still took its toll. If any one of them gets hit directly with that spell again, they're done.

Minus Yukari. She's the only one who looks fine, probably because of her Persona's resistance to wind.

"This is really bad," he murmured.

BANG! BANG!

Did Minato just used his evoker twice?

"Cadenza!"

What?

A soothing melody filled the air, and as he listened, he felt re-energized. Not only that, he also felt…faster for some reason.

"_**Now! Go now!"**_ Charon prompted, leaving him no time to ponder what happened. He rushed at the shadow, slashing it with his scythe. It screeched, but the sound was… slower. And, as it opened itself, it seemed to be moving in slow motion as well.

He dodged the wind it released and slashed at it again.

What's going on? He's moving faster! Does it have anything to do with what Minato did?

Akihiko ran into view, moving as fast as he is. He punched the shadow, then brought his evoker to his head.

"Polydeuces!"

BANG!

The persona appeared and proceeded to do the same thing that Akihiko did; punch the shadow. Hard.

A burst of fire hit the shadow before it could recover. Out of the corner of his eyes Yoshiro saw Minato, the evoker next to his temple, just used.

The shadow cast another Magarula at them, but the wind was just too slow to hit them.

He splayed his hand at the shadow. "Bufu!" the spell travelled through his hand, sending chilling ice at the shadow.

"Heh, I can't lose to an underclassman," Akihiko remarked, summoning Polydeuces promptly and blasting the shadow with Zio.

The shadow's really not looking good now. It's leaning to the side, and one of its sides is open, as if it doesn't have the strength to keep it closed.

Well, they aren't going to stop now.

But you know the saying about cornered rats…

They go berserk and start blasting wind like crazy. What's more, the speed boost that they had seemed to have ran out, It's all they could do to jump back and avoid getting hit.

"Ugh!" he exclaimed, missing the timing of one of his dodges. That hurts. A lot. He still can't afford to be reckless, even if it is nearly dead.

"_**Then allow me…"**_Charon said in his head.

His feet moved on their own, Charon controlling them. He went with it. Sidestep to the left. Jump. Left again. Now right. He let Charon dodge the winds for him, all the while advancing closer to the shadow. Then, at the right moment, he jumped, the scythe high over his head.

"**Die!" **He said, Charon's voice coming through his mouth. The scythe swung down and hit the mask on the shadow's head, the tip burying itself almost a foot into the mask.

The shadow's onslaught of wind stopped abruptly.

He kicked the shadow, yanking the scythe free, taking a good chunk of its face with it. The rest exploded into black ichor.

"_Is everyone alright?" _

Yoshiro bit back the urge to be a total ass right then and merely said, "We're fine. Things would've been much worse if Minato hadn't used that Cadenza spell. How'd you do that, anyway?" he asked.

"It's a fusion spell. I needed Orpheus and Apsaras together to cast it," Minato answered.

"Ah, so that's why you shot twice," Yoshiro remarked. Minato nodded.

"Can we please save the discussion for tomorrow? I'm beat," Yukari said.

"Funny how the least hurt is the one complaining," Yoshiro remarked, not being able to help himself. That earned him a dirty look. "Hey, just saying," he said.

"In any case, let's head back for tonight," Minato interjected, "And Yoshiro, you're still holding a scythe."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, guess I am." He 'dismissed' Charon, letting the cloak and scythe disappear.

And then promptly dropping on his knees.

"Hey, are you alright?" Akihiko asked him, alarmed.

"_What happened?"_

"I – I'm fine," Yoshiro assured, willing strength back to his feet. "Just… felt drained all of the sudden. But I'm fine now."

"You sure?" Akihiko asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah. Now, about getting out of here…"

* * *

><p>Well, that's that.<p>

As always, please review. I'd really like to know if I'm doing this right, or if I'm just screwing everything up.

And...that's it. Look forward to the next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Kendo and Integrative Learning

* * *

><p>Yoshiro woke up feeling very tired. The heaviness in his limbs from last night had not gone away. With a huge effort, he heaved his body out of bed and got dressed, almost wincing at the effort.<p>

Ah… so tired…

* * *

><p>At school, he could still feel eyes looking at him curiously, but he was too tired to care. He couldn't even manage to keep his eyes open and slept not a minute after class started.<p>

Lunchtime presented him with a rude awakening.

"Yoshiro, I have a huge favor to ask you."

"Huh?" He snapped awake and found himself staring at Ms. Toriumi. At first, he thought he was in trouble for sleeping in class, but apparently that wasn't why she was talking to him.

"It's about our athletic teams... Participation is down. The coach says he needs more people..." Ms. Toriumi started to say.

Oh no. He didn't like where this was going.

"Since you're not in any team, Yoshiro, you must have time on your hands, right?"

Oh, please don't…

"Between track, kendo, and swimming, there's got to be one that interests you, right?"

No, there's not! Really!

"Please! Join something!" Ms. Toriumi begged.

This can't be happening.

"Well, I – I don't –" Yoshiro began to make an excuse. However, the look in Ms. Toriumi's eyes told him there was no way to get out of this. He sighed. "I'll join the kendo team," he finally said dejectedly. He didn't know anything about kendo, but he did know that he sunk like a stone and running…

Might as well go with the lesser of three evils.

Ms. Toriumi looked positively thrilled. "Really! You'll do it! Thank you! Yes! A free lunch!"

What?

"...Oh, um, disregard that last part. Then, can you go see the team after school and tell them you want to join?"

So, all this is for a free lunch? That… hardly seemed worth it.

Well, looked like he was going to the gym after school. While still feeling like crap.

"Better to get more sleep in before then, I suppose," he mumbled to himself, putting his head back on his desk and closing his eyes.

* * *

><p>He headed to the gym right after school ended. Of course, he'd much prefer it if he wouldn't be heading to the gym in the first place. But he already gave Ms. Toriumi his word, so he couldn't just blow it off. Well, at least he'd gotten his energy back thanks to that nap.<p>

The moment he entered the gym, he was greeted by the coach. After a quick chat, he was introduced to the rest of the team.

"Looks like we've got another student joining the team. Everyone, this is Yoshiro Akio," the coach said.

A girl with dark skin and black hair stepped up. The manager, he'd guess. "Hello, I'm the manager, Yuko Nishiwaki." Yup, he was right. "Nice to meet you," she greeted.

He smiled politely. "Likewise," he answered.

"Hm… Let's see… Hey! Minato!" the coach called.

What?

Minato stepped forward and Yoshiro's spirits brightened a little when he saw the guy. There's a familiar face, at least.

"Hey, Minato. Didn't know you're part of the kendo team," he remarked.

"Oh, you two know each other?" the coach asked.

"Yeah," Yoshiro answered.

"Well, Minato here also joined us recently, but he's shown remarkable potential. Hasn't he, Kazushi?" the coach asked another student.

He had short, spiky black hair and one look was enough to tell that he was definitely serious about sports. "You could say that again, coach," Kazushi said lightly.

"So, Minato, Kazushi, since he's in the same class as you guys, why don't you both keep an eye on him?" the coach finished.

Minato shrugged, though it didn't look like he was refusing.

Kazushi's answer was more definite. "You got it, coach," he said before turning to Yoshiro, "So, you're Yoshiro? The guy that scored a perfect score on the exams, right?"

Yoshiro sighed. Great, it was circulating just as badly as he'd thought. "Yeah, I am."

"Well, we'll see if you're as good in kendo, then," he continued good-naturedly, "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Minato: from now on, you're mine after school."

Yoshiro grinned. "Sir, yes, sir," he said with a two finger salute.

Well, good to see the kendo team had a sense of humor. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

* * *

><p>"You were pretty good out there, Minato," Yoshiro remarked. Practice had ended and they were making their way back to the dorm. He didn't do much his first practice, thank goodness; just observed the others practice. Yuko assured him that his uniform and gear would be ready by next practice, so he had from now till then to learn all he could about kendo.<p>

"But yeah, I'd never would've thought you'd be in the kendo team. Just didn't strike me as the type," Yoshiro continued, "But I guess all that 'special training' in Tartarus helps, huh?"

"You could say that," Minato answered.

"But I'm in way over my head here," Yoshiro said with a sigh, "I don't know a single thing about kendo."

"Then, why did you join?" Minato asked.

"Well, Ms. Toriumi didn't really give me much of a choice. It's either this, the swim team, or track. I don't know how to swim, so that's out of the question. And between the other two options, kendo just seemed more interesting."

"Even when you don't know anything about it?"

Yoshiro nodded. "Even when I don't know anything about it. I could always learn, you know?"

They arrived at the dorm shortly after that. "Well, I've gotta go and do some research now. Later, Minato," Yoshiro said, heading up the stairs straight to his room.

* * *

><p>Yoshiro yawned and then rested his head on his desk.<p>

"Research?" Minato asked next to him.

He nodded tiredly. He'd spent _way _too much time finding out about kendo last night. Funny how he could feel fine running around fighting Shadows during the Dark Hour, yet still feel like crap from just a few hours in front of a computer.

The human body is definitely weird. Or maybe it was just him.

Speaking of weird…

"I'm Edogawa, in charge of integrative learning."

Now, if he remembered correctly - which he was sure he did - there should've been no such class in the curriculum. And he was also pretty sure that guy was the school nurse.

"Eeheehee… In this class, I'll ease all your worries," Mr. Edogawa continued.

Yoshiro scoffed. Obviously, the guy didn't know just _what_ those worries were. Alright, what was it? Breathing exercises? Positive thinking?

"It's psychotherapy through magic!"

…

…

…What?

About half the class must've reacted the way he did.

"All right, everyone, be very, very quiet. No talking… Silence! Were you surprised to hear me bring up magic?" Mr. Edogawa continued, "It's a recent proposal, so it's not well known yet."

Maybe it was not well known because it's nuts?

…Then again, they fought monsters during a thirteenth hour no one else was aware of by shooting themselves in the head, so maybe he should pay attention.

Mr. Edogawa continued. "Here it is: those who believe will be saved. Study hard and I can beat your weak minds into shape."

Oh, joy.

* * *

><p>...That… wasn't bad. Not at all. In fact, Mr. Edogawa's lecture actually sounded… well, interesting. Still kind of off, but less crazy than he thought it would be.<p>

He stopped by the gym after school for kendo and thankfully managed not to make a complete fool out of himself. The workout itself was a piece of cake compared to fighting Shadows during the Dark Hour, so he had no problems there. It was kind of fun, in fact, and before he knew it, practice was over.

As he arrived at the dorm, Minato, Mitsuru, and Yukari seemed to be having a conversation.

"…If that's the case, what's the point of fighting?" he caught Yukari say.

"Hm? If what's the case?" he chimed in.

"Oh, hey, Yoshiro-kun. Senpai was just telling us that the number of The Lost is increasing again," Yukari explained.

"Really?" He hadn't noticed. The Lost weren't really his concern.

Mitsuru nodded. "That's right. But still, if we do nothing, then everyone will eventually join The Lost. Our efforts have prevented the crisis from escalating."

"I guess you're right," Yukari said reluctantly, "...Ya know, it's kinda creepy when you think about it... If we couldn't use our Personas, then the whole city would be crawling with zombies..."

"That's why we have to keep fighting," Minato finally chimed in.

"Well, there's that, at least. And I'm sure that we all also have our own personal reasons too," Yoshiro added, "Am I right?"

"…Yeah," Yukari said weakly.

He also noticed Mitsuru looking down guiltily. Did he touch on a subject he shouldn't have?

"Well, if you're that worried about it, how about we go to Tartarus tonight?" Minato offered, dispelling the gloom, "We need to get Junpei back into things anyway."

They all voiced their assent.

"I'll tell the others then," Mitsuru said, walking away.

"I'm going back to my room. Gonna get some sleep in while I can," Yoshiro said, heading to the stairs before pausing, "And don't you dare leave me behind," he added.

Minato chuckled. "We won't," he replied.

* * *

><p>Hey all! Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm really trying to speed through the next two weeks. Once the full moon's over, I promise it'll pick up cause most of the things I plan actually starts then. So please bear with me.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Hey All!

Sorry for being MIA for like a month, school kinda decided it didn't want me to live any more.

...Though it might've been my fault in the first place for taking five AP courses...

Anyway, how about we get right to it, shall we?

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Cooling Down<p>

* * *

><p>For perhaps the tenth time that night, Yoshiro sighed. He could hear Mitsuru over near the huge staircase supporting the rest of the team, who were making their way up in Tartarus. And meanwhile, here he was at the entrance, sighing again.<p>

It was Mitsuru's idea. She said that it would be wise if they limited the number of people going up to four. Yoshiro could see the logic in it; for starters, having way too many people on a floor at once could serve to hinder them overall, what with limited space for fighting in the halls and all. And this way, if something managed to wipe out the party, there'd be reinforcements ready to go in. Yes, the entire thing was all well and logical.

And Minato's choice to leave him behind for this run was also logical. Yukari was their best healer, Junpei desperately needed to catch up, and between Akihiko and himself, Akihiko needed the practice just a tad bit more.

Screw you, logic.

"There are four enemies. Be careful," Mitsuru said into her equipment, no doubt directing the others somewhere above. This was the first time Yoshiro saw Mitsuru giving support instead of listening to it through his earpiece and he had to admit it was a bit intriguing. For one, she didn't summon her Persona and yet she was still relaying information through the earpiece.

"…How do you do that?" Yoshiro finally asked, driven by a mixture of curiosity and boredom.

"Hmm?" She looked as though she had just noticed him right then. "What do you mean?"

"How are you sensing things without using your Persona?"

"Well, that's – " Mitsuru started to explain before cutting off abruptly and touching her earpiece, "Huh? Understood. I'll attempt to analyze the enemy." Minato must be asking for a scan. Mitsuru turned back towards him. "Let's leave the explanation for later, Akio."

Great. There goes his one chance to kill some time. He sighed.

…That's the twelfth time…

* * *

><p>After the <em>wonderful<em> time he had in Tartarus the previous night, it didn't really take a genius to figure out Yoshiro's mood the following day. He had not gotten a chance to go up at all. After his fifteenth sigh, Minato and the others had returned via warp panel, only to tell him that there was a barrier on the way similar to the one that had barred their way to Arqa. Except this one wouldn't budge. So, they all had to call it quits early.

He was actually hoping that class would help mellow him out a bit, but nope, no such luck. They had Mr. Ekoda all morning, and frankly, he'd much rather shove nails in his ears than listen to his lectures. Don't know why, but Yoshiro just didn't like him. He came across as the type of person that'd push a person under a bus just to save his own skin.

Or maybe that was just him.

And so, by the end of the day, Yoshiro found himself more frustrated than ever and he figured he'd need to get it all out of his system before things got _really_ bad. He could go to kendo, but…

Yoshiro shook his head, dismayed. No, he'd end up bashing someone's head in. That wouldn't do.

"Hey, what's up, dude?" Junpei said, shattering his thoughts, "You look a little down. Your grades dropped or something?"

Yoshiro sighed. "Not now, Junpei, I'm –" he started to say before stopping himself. Maybe he could… "Say, Junpei, you know any arcades around here?"

"Huh?" The question seemed to have taken him off guard. "Well, sure. There's one in Paulownia Mall."

"That'll work," Yoshiro said with an evil chuckle, "Thanks, Junpei."

Junpei just gave him a baffled expression. "Um… sure..."

Yoshiro left school not long after that, heading to Paulownia Mall.

* * *

><p>Ah… much better.<p>

Yoshiro walked into the dorm humming to himself, satisfied by the afternoon's venture. He really should've gone a long time ago; games did tend to calm him down. There was just something about dual-wielding guns against a horde of zombies that just… satisfied. And picturing said zombies as Shadows definitely improved his mood.

Too bad he couldn't use his evoker like that…

"Welcome back," Mitsuru greeted him from the couch, "You seem to be in a good mood."

He grinned. "Well, you could say that," he said lightly, "I just blew off some steam in the arcade."

"I see…" Mitsuru remarked, not giving anything away with her expression, "In any case, about your question last night…"

"Hmm?" It took Yoshiro a second to recall it. "Oh, right. Well, Senpai, it just strikes me as odd how you could use your Persona without an evoker."

Mitsuru chuckled. "Well, I suppose the same could be said about you," she pointed out.

Yoshiro rubbed the back of his head. "You have a point there."

"And although I'm using my Persona's abilities, to say that I could summon her without an evoker would be incorrect," Mitsuru continued, "I would still need to use an evoker to summon her fully."

"I see…" Yoshiro said slowly, rubbing his chin before sighing, "This entire thing – Personas, Shadows, Tartarus, the Dark Hour – have you ever wondered how it came about, Senpai?"

…What was that hesitation?

"I'm not sure."

No, he hadn't imagined it. There was definitely a hesitation. It was an innocent question, but now…

Should he press the matter further?

… No, not right now. Not when he finally got the stress out of his system. But he'd keep it in mind.

He flashed her another smile in the meantime. "Well, I think it's getting quite late. I'm going to get some rest now. Good night, Senpai."

"R-right. Good night." Well, he had to hand it to her – she regained her composure fast.

As soon as he entered his room, he turned on his laptop. It was about time he researched this entire business in earnest.

"I think I'll start with Shadows…" he murmured to himself.

* * *

><p>Yoshiro rested his head on his desk for the second time that week and sighed, tired as hell. Well, at least he found <em>some<em> information, though whether or not it was useful…

From what he could gather, Shadows were parts of the unconscious mind that represented one's weakness and shortcomings, while Personae were basically 'masks' designed to both make an impression on others and conceal one's true nature. All this came from some Swiss psychiatrist named Carl Jung.

He remembered what Charon said that first time they had 'met.'

_"I am a Persona, a façade to overcome life's hardships, a 'reflection' of your true self."_

That sounded very similar to how Carl Jung described the Persona. Maybe he was on the right track. Well, tomorrow was Sunday. He could use it to –

"Yoshiro, earth to Yoshiro."

…And there goes his train of thought. Nice.

"Oh, don't bother him, Stupei, can't you see how tired he looks?" That was Yukari, wasn't it? "He's probably not interested anyway." Yup, definitely Yukari.

"Man, what's with you? Did you even hear anything we just said? You space out even more than Minato and that's saying something!" That was definitely Junpei.

"I resent that," his and Minato's voices rang out at the same time. They looked at each other curiously for a second before Yoshiro continued with an irritated edge in his voice. "And for your information, I did. You were talking about that girl from 2-E that was found at the gate unconscious and Yukari was saying that she saw the girl yesterday. Now, I need more sleep."

The look on Junpei's face was definitely priceless. Too bad Yoshiro was too tired to fully enjoy it.

He laid his head down on the desk again.

* * *

><p><em>"Alright, here we are."<em>

_The man and woman opened the door, smiling warmly at him, gently ushering him inside._

_"From now on, this'll be where you'll stay." the woman said._

_It was a small room with a sliding closet in one corner, a table in another, and a futon against the wall under a window._

_"Do you like it? Sorry if the room's a little bare. This used to be my study," the man said with the same gentle tone._

_"…It's nice…" he mumbled softly._

_"Anything you need, Dear, just let us know," the woman said._

_"…Yes, Ma'am…" he mumbled again._

_"Oh, no need to be so formal," the man said again before noticing something out of the corner of his eye, "Ah, Momoka, there you are. Why don't you say hello?"_

_He turned around to see a girl around his age, a little shorter than him, with smooth brown hair falling to her shoulders. She looked at him curiously. "Who are you?" she asked him with a curious tone._

_He felt the man's hand on his shoulder. "Momoka, this is Yoshiro. He'll be living with us from now on. Yoshiro, this is Momoka, our daughter."_

_She walked closer to him, still with that curious look. Then she flashed him a wonderful smile. "Hi! Nice to meet you!" she exclaimed excitedly._

_He was taken aback. "Um… yeah… Nice to meet you too."_

_She nodded vigorously. "Let's get along, 'kay?" she exclaimed again cheerfully, flashing him another of that wonderful smile._

_Yoshiro just couldn't help but nod._

* * *

><p>The sound of the bell snapped him awake.<p>

"Wha –" he mumbled, sleep still in his eyes.

"You slept through the entire day," Minato said, noticing him jolt awake.

"Right…" he said, getting up and stretching, "Did I miss anything?"

"Junpei was trying to draw on your face during the lunch break," Minato answered.

What! He frantically brought his hands to his face.

"Don't worry though. Yukari stopped him before he could do it," Minato added.

He made a mental note to thank Yukari later, right after kicking Junpei's butt.

"You look like you had a good dream," Minato commented.

"Mmm… it's more like a memory," Yoshiro said absently.

"Must've been good then. You were smiling the entire time," Minato said.

It really was. That was the memory of the first day of his new life and of his meeting with Momoka.

"Well, I have things to do, so I'll head back now. See you in the dorm," Minato said as a farewell.

"Alright," Yoshiro replied, still not moving from his spot. He wanted to enjoy the feeling of the memory a bit more before heading back.

Finally, when he was the last one in the classroom, he sighed and headed back to the dorm.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey! This chapter didn't take another month! Huzzah!

I actually had this chapter and chapter 11 ready to post before school starts, but then school kinda swallowed me whole...

So anyway, hope you enjoy.

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Ghost Story<p>

* * *

><p>Yoshiro looks at his face in the mirror and frowned. There are definitely rings under his eyes. Yeah, he definitely spent <em>way <em>too much time on his laptop yesterday. Staring at a screen from Saturday till Sunday night will definitely do that. But on the upside, he did learn a great deal about the major arcanas, all twenty two of them, especially his own.

The arcana Death does not symbolize, well, death as he originally thought, but rather metamorphosis and deep change. And end to one thing and a beginning for another. It makes sense. After all, his life had already changed drastically before; once when Tou-san and Oka-san took him in, once when Momoka disappeared.

Needless to say, he was relieved.

"Wonder if the others' Arcanas fit them as well," he mused to himself, reaching for his jacket before remembering that today is the first day of June. Starting from today, he's going to have to wear his summer uniform. How long has it been since he transferred here? Nearly two months? And he's still not any closer to finding Momoka.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. No. Don't think negatively. Nothing's ever accomplished by thinking negatively.

He'll find her for sure.

* * *

><p>At school, he got the feeling that something big is going around. He could hear the other students whispering to each other, and words like "ghost" and "curse" seemed to be a common theme in conversations. Does it have something to do with that girl that was found unconscious last week? His guts say it probably does. Either way, an overall nervous atmosphere seems to be hanging around the school.<p>

The same could not be said about the dorm.

Right after he returned, Yoshiro found himself literally dragged by Junpei to the table at the lounge.

"Hey, what are you –" he was about to exclaim in protest before he saw Minato already at the table. He didn't say anything, but his expression seemed to be saying, "_Just wait and see." _ So Yoshiro decided to just shut up and wait, fully intending to drop kick Junpei if this entire affair turned out to be a letdown.

Thankfully for Junpei, it didn't.

Junpei's show began when Yukari arrived. "Hey Yuka-tan, have you seen the posts on the student message board?" he asked her, not stopping to let her answer, "You know how last week, that girl was found by the front gate? Well there's this rumor that it was an angry spirit from this one ghost story."

…Is it just him or is Yukari getting paler?

"H-Hey!" she stammered, the strain in her voice ridiculously obvious, "C'mon… nobody believes that stuff… R-right?"

You sound like you do, Yukari. Really, you do. Looking really nervous doesn't help your case either.

"So, what's this about a ghost story?" Mitsuru asked. Either she didn't notice Yukari's change in complexion or she didn't really care.

…His money's on the latter.

"Wha - ! It-it's probably made up…so why bother?"

Oh Yukari, you're trying way too hard. The least you'd want right now is to _encourage_ Junpei.

"I'm interested. Go ahead and tell us," Akihiko said.

Are you people blind or something? Or do you all just like seeing Yukari squirm?

...Not that it's not funny, but…

Junpei leaned forward with a mischievous grin on his face. Suddenly the lights went out, and pulled out a flashlight out of nowhere. Seriously, where did he pull that out from? He wasn't holding it before. He could swear the only person who could ever pull out things out of nowhere is Minato. Or did Minato teach him how to do that?

"Good evening," Junpei said in the best creepy voice he could muster, "Welcome to 'Junpei's Believe it or Don't,'" Junpei is definitely going to get into all sorts of copyright issues with Ripley for that name, "…There are many strange things in this world…"

It's safe to say that that's true. After all, the Dark Hour exists, right?

"…According to one story… if you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls!"

Junpei then goes on to recount the tale of his friend 'Shu' - which everyone knows is that guy Kenji in their class that hangs out with him – which, without the theatrics could be summed up as, "He saw the girl that was found unconscious going into the school the night before." Yoshiro has to give props to Junpei for making the story sound a lot more dramatic than that.

"Yes, there are strange things in this world… Believe it… or don't," Junpei said, finishing his tale, switching the flashlights off and stowing it back into hammer space.

Seriously, if he learned how to do that from Minato Yoshiro _definitely_ needs those lessons.

"… What do you think, Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked.

"I think it's worth investigating," Akihiko said.

"I think so too," Minato said, having kept silent all this time, "It may be connected to the Dark Hour."

It certainly _is _worth investigating, if only because of the fact that Junpei went through the effort of telling it in that fashion.

Ah... but Yukari is definitely not looking good right now. Seriously, is she _that _taken in by the story?

Junpei seemed to notice as well. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. "Wow, I didn't know you were afraid of ghosts, Yuka- tan. That's kinda funny." He said with a grin.

"Hey, watch it!" Yukari snapped, "…F-fine, let's investigate. We'll ask around for the rest of the week. I'll prove to you that this ghost story is just an urban legend!"

Yukari seemed so pumped up that Yoshiro didn't have the heart to tell her that the ghost story _is_ true in a sense, if you consider the fact that the school turns into a giant tower filled with Shadows after midnight. Why burst her bubble now?

"I appreciate that. The story is a bit unnerving," Mitsuru admitted.

Yoshiro had to hold down a gasp. Mitsuru? Afraid? It's the sign of the apocalypse!

Minato made a strangled sound from his corner of the table. Did they have the same thought? Well, regardless, Mitsuru didn't seem to notice.

"Then, I'll let you guys handle it. Just make sure you sleep with one eye open…" Akihiko joked.

After they dispersed, Yoshiro had a little chat with Minato upstairs before entering their respective rooms.

"So? Do you think all this have anything to do with ghosts?" he asked him.

Minato shook his head. "It's more likely that it's Shadow related," he said, "Especially considering _what_ the school is during the Dark Hour."

Yoshiro chuckled. "I thought so too," he agreed. At least he could count on Minato having a cool head. "Well, we'll see in a week now, won't we?" he said, turning to his room. "See you tomorrow."

Minato nodded as a reply.

* * *

><p>After that, the week passed by rather uneventfully. The highlights of it: kendo, Yukari nagging at him about the ghost story, Mr. Ekoda's class – That man has <em>serious<em> issues –, Yukari nagging at him about the ghost story, A _really_ short trip to Tartarus, Yukari nagging at him about the ghost story…

God that woman is obsessed. She was more persistent than Momoka! And that's saying something!

…And he's reminded of Momoka again. Great…

So, when Yukari came up to him in the hallway Friday, he put up his hand before she could even get a word out.

"No, I did not forget. Yes, I will be there at the lounge tonight. No, I am not psychic, just incredibly annoyed," Yoshiro said quickly, "Go bother Junpei or something; _he _should have forgotten about it."

He quickly retreated right after that. He felt a little sorry for throwing Junpei under that bus called Yukari Takeba, but in his mind the guy deserved it.

It's going to be an interesting night, to say the least.

* * *

><p>"Okay, as we agreed on Monday, we'll now hold a meeting to discuss what we learned," Yukari stated right as Minato and Junpei walked in the door.<p>

"Wow, you're really into this," Junpei remarked.

Yukari looked pretty smug. "Of course. I got lots of good info. It turns out no angry ghost was involved," she said triumphantly.

"Oh," Junpei said, "So that's what's important, huh?"

Yukari looked at him, annoyed, "Hmph. First off, let's talk about how this rumor got started…"

"You mean why it spread so fast?" Yoshiro asked. "Isn't that because there were three victims? Two similar incidents happened a few days after the first one, right?" he said casually. He immediately wished he didn't, as Yukari shot him an annoyed look. Seemed like she wanted to say that particular part.

"Sorry," he said a little apologetically.

"Well, whatever," Yukari said quickly, trying to regain her momentum, "So anyway, all three victims had been hospitalized. No wonder people are talking about it."

"And even though they're from different classes, they hang out together a lot, don't they?" this time it was Minato that stole Yukari's thunder. He then lifted his hands defensively as Yukari gave him an exasperated look. "Hey, you're the one that told us to investigate."

"Yeah, can't really blame us if we already know what you'll say," Yoshiro agreed. Though, in his case, "investigating" was basically remembering the conversations that happened around him the entire week. Hurray perfect recall.

Junpei laughed. "Heh, they sure got you, Yuka-tan," he remarked.

Oh, Junpei, you poor idiot.

Instantly, Yukari fixed her glare to Junpei, and this time, it's her full- blown 'Death' stare. Junpei's in trouble now. "Oh, yeah? Well, then, Stupei, I bet _you _can't tell us _where_ they hang out?"

It's really a funny sight to see someone squirm. And Junpei's definitely squirming right now. "Well, eh, Haha – erm, they, uh, they hung out in… Um… Hey, guys, help me out here!"

Yukari quickly whipped her gaze to Yoshiro and Minato, her eyes saying _'Don't you _dare _answer.'_

Yoshiro shrugged. "Sorry, Junpei, you're on your own."

"You reap what you sow," Minato remarked.

"Oh come on!" Junpei exclaimed.

Yukari nodded multiple times, her triumphant air returning, "I thought so," she said triumphantly, "I figured you'd bethe only one who didn't ask around, Stupei."

Minato apparently thought that Junpei has suffered enough, because he spoke up then. "They got in a bad crowd didn't they?"

Yukari nodded. Seems like she also decided to let Junpei off the hook. "Yeah. It can't be just coincidence… So, to find out what happened, we're gonna do some field research."

Instantly Yoshiro's smile dropped. She can't mean…

"Field research? Are you kidding?" Junpei complained.

"Yeah, there's this one place where the three victims were regulars." Yukari continued.

"Wait, you're not talkin' about that place behind, Port Island Station are you…?" Junpei's voice had an incredulous tone in them that didn't bode well.

"Oh, you're familiar with it?"

Junpei really looks horrified. That's abad sign. "You can't go there! I've heard nasty rumors about that place!"

"Is that so? Well then, we should all go together. Minato, you'll come right?" Yukari asked.

"I don't mind," Minato said noncommittally.

"I'll take that as a yes. What about you, Yoshiro –"

"No." Yoshiro said firmly.

"Yeah. Forget it… that place is bad news. I mean, don't you think we're getting in over our heads?"

Not to mention the many ways things could go bad. And Yoshiro _knows_.

"Up until now, all we've done is take orders. Does that feel right to you?" Yukari asked.

"I know what you mean but…" Oh no, Junpei's wavering.

"I think that's preferable to getting stabbed behind some godforsaken alley," Yoshiro said rather harshly.

"What's your problem? We're just going to ask some questions," Yukari said in an irritated tone.

"_That's_ my problem!" Yoshiro snapped, "You guys are treating this way too casually. Do you even know what you're getting into?" He turned away angrily.

"Of course we do!" Yukari snapped back.

"Argh, forget it," he said as he turned around angrily and headed up the stairs, practically slamming the door to his room as he entered. He spent the rest of the night massaging his forehead. This entire thing's giving him a headache.

"Calm down, Yoshiro, calm down," he reassured himself. If anything, Minato'll stop them. Surely he could see how ridiculous their plan is.

Right?

* * *

><p>Dammit dammit dammit dammit!<p>

"Idiots!" He yelled in frustration, sprinting towards Port Island Station.

They actually went there! And they didn't even tell him! Blasted idiots! Do they have a death wish or something! It's not like they could use their Personae on regular people! What'll they do if some thug decided to stick 'em with a knife!

"Dammit all!" he yelled again. He's nearly there. One more corner and he should be there.

They better not be in trouble!

He rounded the last corner and cursed to himself. There they are, with a menacing looking person in front of them. Seriously, the guy just screams 'thug' with his trench coat and beanie and scowl. He better do something fast!

But they haven't noticed him yet. Maybe he could use the momentum from his run…

"MOVE!" he roared at the others before leaping, twisting his body in midair to deliver one of his best flying roundhouses straight to the thug's temple.

THWACK!

"What the –"

"Gah!" What the hell was that! Does the guy hide steel plates under that beanie or something! He felt like he just kicked a rock! Who the hell is this guy!

"Y- Yoshiro-kun?"

Right. Getting the others out here's the priority. He quickly turned to the others. "Guys, get out of here! I'll hold him off!" he should be able to last at least a minute. That'll be plenty of time for the others to get away.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Relax. He's a friend," he heard Minato say.

...

...

...

What!

* * *

><p>Thankfully, it didn't take too long to clear up the misunderstanding. The guy's name is Shinjiro Aragaki. Apparently, the others had met him before while visiting Akihiko in the hospital way back when his arm was still busted. He had jumped in and intervened when the others were facing the <em>real<em> thugs, and apparently fought one off. With a headbutt. While his arms were in his pockets.

That is so… badass. And believable, considering the throbbing of his right leg.

"Um, I'm really sorry about all that," Yoshiro apologized, bowing his head, "How's your head?"

"It's fine," Shinjiro answered gruffly. It's true; there wasn't even a freaking _bruise_. This guy's not human. Yoshiro could clearly remember dropping someone twice his size with a kick like that when he was _ten_. "You got what you wanted? Then don't come here again." He said before walking away.

…Well, certainly doesn't have much of a friendly attitude, doesn't he?

Yoshiro turned to his friends, crossing his arms. "You guys better have gotten some good info," he demanded.

"Yeah, we do," Yukari said quickly, "Remember that girl the Senpais said has potential?"

"Fuuka Yamagishi? What about her?" Yoshiro asked, "Wasn't she too frail for combat or something?"

"Yeah. Turns out our victims were picking on her."

"What? That's _way_ too much to be a coincidence." Yoshiro remarked.

"Well, thing is, apparently she hasn't been home in over a week!" Yukari continued.

"What!" Yoshiro exclaimed, "How come we haven't heard about this!"

Minato shrugged. "We should question Mr. Ekoda on Monday. There's no way he couldn't have known about it."

"Yeah," Junpei agreed, "But man, you nearly gave me a heart attack there, Yoshiro. I mean, you came out of nowhere with that kick."

Yoshiro pursed his lip. "I really thought you guys were in trouble. And from what I heard, you _were_ in trouble. What would you have done if Shinjiro- senpai didn't show up?"

"We would've managed," Yukari said defensively.

Yoshiro sighed, "You know, it's that type of attitude that'll get you killed out in the streets."

"What?"

Oops. He said too much.

"Whatever, let's just get out of here," Yoshiro said, changing the subject, "I need to put some ice on my foot." He really does. It's starting to throb _way_ too much.

The others didn't argue with him, and they headed straight back to the dorms.

* * *

><p>Monday, Yoshiro did the single stupidest thing in his entire life.<p>

His foot was somehow still hurt from that entire mishap Saturday, so he decided, reluctantly, to go to the nurse in the beginning of the day.

…In retrospect, he should've been suspicious when Mr. Edogawa gave him something foul-smelling to drink, even though his problem is his foot.

After that, he found himself laying in one of the beds in the nurse's office. He also found that the school day is over.

Needless to say, he bolted out of there at the first opportunity.

…Strangely enough, though, his foot felt great.

He ran into Yukari in the hall.

"Where've you been?" she demanded.

"Well, I went to the nurse and – "

Yukari face palmed. "That explains it."

…Wow, seriously? "Did I miss anything important?"

"Kinda. See…"

Yukari then quickly got him up to speed with what he missed. Basically, while he was knocked out in the nurse's office, Yukari, Junpei, Minato and Mitsuru went to confront Mr. Ekoda in the faculty office, Mitsuru having learned of the incident from one of Fuuka's bullies. They found out that Fuuka disappeared after being locked in the gym overnight ten days ago. They also learned that Mr. Ekoda withheld the fact from the school to save his own reputation.

Yoshiro was kind of glad he wasn't there. Otherwise, he's certain that he would've beaten Mr. Ekoda to within inches of death. As it is, he had to resist the urge to seek that bastard of a teacher out right now and do just that.

"Now, come on, everyone's waiting in the Student Council Room," Yukari urged.

"Alright, let's go," he agreed, putting his murderous thought away.

* * *

><p>Well, I suppose the full moon's up next chapter huh? Boy, do I have plans for that...<p>

Hopefully the next chapter'll be up within the month. I'll try to get up in two weeks, if school does not kill me.


	13. Chapter 13

Wow, would you look at that. This took exactly two weeks to finish! Hurray!

I wanted to fit the entire full moon event in this chapter at first, but decided against it. It would've been way too long. So here's the first half. The second half will follow as soon as I manage to dig my way out of my mountain of homework.

Well, without further ado, here it is!

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Rescue Mission<p>

* * *

><p>"Oh, Takeba, I see you found him," Mitsuru remarked as they entered the Student Council Room.<p>

"Sorry, I went to the nurse's office and –"

Mitsuru stared at him for a minute before shaking her head. Akihiko seemed like he's trying hard to not laugh, while Junpei just laughed out loud. Even Minato couldn't help but smile.

"…Right, I know it's the stupidest thing I've ever done. Let's move on, please," he said exasperatedly.

"Right, then. Have Takeba told you what happened?" Yoshiro nods in affirmation, "Good. Takeba, make sure that door is locked."

Takeba nodded and locked the door. "All set," she said.

Mitsuru launched straight into their mission. "Tonight, we will infiltrate the campus. Our objective is to rescue Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Um, I don't get it…" Junpei chimed in, "Is Fuuka inside the school somewhere?"

Yoshiro nearly facepalmed. Seriously, Junpei?

"And why at night?" This time Yoshiro did facepalm. Not Yukari too… "At midnight, this place turns into –" Never mind, looks like she realized how stupid she was being.

Mitsuru nodded.

Looks like Junpei realized what he was missing too. "But, that was ten days ago! That means…"

Minato shook his head. "Don't jump into conclusions, Junpei," he said calmly.

"Minato's right," Akihiko added, "Tartarus only appears during the Dark Hour. So, what about the rest of the day?"

Yoshiro stared at him blankly. He…he never really thought about it.

"Now that you mention it…" Yukari said thoughtfully.

"This is only a theory, but I think time may function differently with respect to Tartarus. So, even though it's been ten days for us, perhaps only ten hours have passed for her. It's possible she's still alive," Akihiko continued.

Yoshiro could've kissed him right then and there. Time works differently in Tartarus! Of course that would make sense! And, if the same theory could be applied to Momoka…

His hope just soared. Momoka might've only been there for a few days!

"Wow, ya think so! Uh, but the Dark Hour is pretty brutal…" Junpei remarked, "We can barely handle an hour; how's she gonna last ten!"

Oh, Junpei, _please_ stop talking before you ruin his mood.

"That's true…" Oh, come on, Yukari! Not you too! "And, even if she's still alive, we might not be able to get to her…"

"Are you just gonna let her die, then!" Akihiko snapped. He paused for a moment to regain his composure. "…I have an idea. Let's try to enter Tartarus exactly how Fuuka did. We'll go to the gym, and wait for midnight. That's the quickest way."

"Honestly, I have reservations," Mitsuru said, "If something goes wrong, you could all end up lost in Tartarus too. But…"

"I won't stand by and do nothing if there's a chance we can save her…" Akihiko insisted, "I won't forgive myself. If you guys don't want to go, then I'll go by myself."

"Wow, hang on there, Senpai," Yoshiro chimed in, "We can't have you dying on us like that. I'll go too. You'll need someone to watch your back."

Akihiko seemed impressed by his outburst. "Heh, fine then."

"You two…" Mitsuru said with an annoyed tone, "We never said that we won't go. We're aware of the risks, but we can't just leave her there."

Minato nodded. "The sooner we get her out of there, the better," he agreed.

"Yeah. We won't know until we try." Yukari jumped in.

Junpei grinned and rubbed his hands together with glee. "Cool, we get to sneak into the school! Heheh… In that case, I know just what to do…"

Oh, Junpei, _please _don't think of doing anything stupid.

* * *

><p>That evening, however, they ran into a little problem.<p>

Everyone was gathered in the meeting room at the dorm, ready for the operation. Since their summer uniforms are inadequate to hide their armor and weapons, they had to wear their winter ones again. It's a pain, but it's better than getting stopped by police at night and having to explain why they're carrying weapons and stuff.

"Hmm…"

"What's wrong?"

"I can't get a hold of the Chairman," Mitsuru said.

"The Chairman? Wh –" Yoshiro almost asked before he remembered. Right. The Chairman of their school is their "club's" advisor. Where did the guy disappear to, anyway? He hasn't seen him after that battle against the giant shadow a month back. Some help he's been.

"I guess we can handle this ourselves," Yukari said.

"There's one problem though," Mitsuru pointed out, "Without the Chairman's help, I'm not sure how we can get inside the school…"

Figures. The one time they _actually _needed him, he's nowhere to be found.

"No need to worry. I've got it all set to go,"

Wait, was that seriously Junpei?

"Set to go?" Mitsuru asked before smiling slightly, "an explosive?"

Since when does "set to go" mean explosives? It could be anything

…Then again, this is Junpei…

Mitsuru chuckled. "Alright, I'll let you handle this," she said just a bit too eagerly.

"We don't have time to waste. Let's go," Akihiko urged. He and Mitsuru left the meeting room then, leaving the rest of them there.

"…Was it just me, or did Mitsuru-senpai seem a little… too excited?" Yoshiro commented now that Mitsuru is safely out of hearing range.

"Yeah…" Yukari agreed before turning to Junpei. "But Junpei, an explosive? For real?"

"Nah," Junpei assured, "All I did was unlock a door…"

…

That… was smart thinking. And it was Junpei that thought of that. Yoshiro honestly didn't expect that from him. They'd be breaking into the school after all. Why didn't it occur to him to prepare accordingly?

…speaking of preparations…

"You know what, now that I think about it, I forgot something back in my room," Yoshiro said out loud.

"What? Come on, man, we have to go," Junpei urged with an annoyed voice.

"I know, I know, why don't you guys go ahead and follow our Senpais? I'll be right behind you," Yoshiro suggested, already out of the door before they could reply. He raced down to his room, and rummaged around.

"Come on, I'm sure I brought it," he mumbled to himself before he spotted the object in his luggage bag. He never thought he'd actually need it again; the only reason he brought it with him was so that Tou-san and Oka-san won't find. Funny how fate works.

He tucked the object into his pocket and snatched a handful of paperclips he always kept on his desk, then raced outside to try and catch up with the others. It won't do to have them start without him.

* * *

><p>Yoshiro barely managed to catch up as Junpei opened the door with a flourish, and took a cautious note at the subtle disappointment on Mitsuru's face. Did she actually <em>expected<em> explosives?

"See?" Junpei asked as they stepped inside, "We got in no problem. Man, I'm a genius!"

Yukari sighed. "Is that really something to brag about?" she remarked. It's clear she doesn't want to give Junpei the satisfaction of praise. Maybe she's still holding a grudge from Junpei's ghost story?

"So, you unlocked it earlier…" Mitsuru commented, "Tres bien!"

…Wasn't she just disappointed that no explosives were involved? Yoshiro was sure he didn't imagine the disappointment on her face moments ago. She sure regained her composure fast.

"No time for compliments," Akihiko urged, "Let's go."

Right. They still need to get into the gym before midnight, without anyone noticing. They have to move fast.

"What's the big deal, anyway?" Yukari asked a little edgily. Wonder why she's acting like such a –

Oh, right. They're in school, at night, and she's afraid of ghosts.

"Tray Ben?" Junpei mumbled, oblivious, "What's that mean? That's not English, is it?"

"It's French, Junpei," Minato supplied, "means 'very good.'"

Yoshiro raised an eyebrow. "You know French?"

"Just knew what that meant." Minato answered.

Huh, wouldn't have guessed. Yoshiro himself knew the meaning, but only because Oka-san has a weakness to foreign movies, and Momoka always makes him watch them with her.

… Dammit…

* * *

><p>They managed to make their way into one of the empty classrooms without too much noise, although Yukari was complaining about the darkness.<p>

"Can we turn on the lights?" she asked, a nervous tone in her voice.

"Aww, you scared?" Junpei teased.

"No!" Yukari exclaimed, "Stupei."

"Stop callin' me that!"

"Quiet," Akihiko said in an authoritative tone. "It's better if we leave 'em off. They cut the power at night anyway."

Yukari shivered. "I don't like sneaking around," she whined. Yoshiro's eyes travelled to Junpei, and even in the darkness he could tell that the guy was about to make another snide remark. Thankfully, Mitsuru took charge before that happened.

"First, we have to find the key to the gym," she said. "Akihiko and I will check the janitor's room. You four check the Faculty Office. After that, we'll meet in the main hallway. Got it?"

Yoshiro grinned. "Well, actually –" he started, about to take the item in his pocket that would make all that unnecessary. Junpei, however, decided that was the perfect time to make a totally Junpei-like comment.

"The Faculty Office, huh?" he said, rubbing his chin. "Hey, maybe we'll find some test questions!" he remarked before snickering.

…Seriously, Junpei? And right in front of Mitsuru, of all people?

"Maybe I should go to the Faculty Office, too…" Oh, not you too, Akihiko! "It sounds interesting."

Minato sighed and shook his head. He obviously knew what's about to happen.

"Are you planning something unscrupulous under my supervision?" Mitsuru said. She's still smiling, except now she's exuding that same aura that she had when she had threatened to "execute" Yoshiro a month back. "If so, then expect to be severely punished…"

…Did the temperature just drop?

Junpei laughed nervously. "It-it was a joke! I'd never do something like that!" he said, almost stammering. He seemed scared to death by Mitsuru's threat.

Akihiko seemed less scared, but Yoshiro could tell the guy is nervous about the threat. "Come on, Mitsuru… Lighten up a little."

"Fine," Mitsuru said, still exuding that aura, "Let's head over to the janitor's room. Iori, you're coming with us."

…Well, as much as he enjoys Junpei and Akihiko's misery…

He cleared his throat loudly, catching everyone's attention. "Actually, Senpai, I don't think we need to find the gym key," he said, deliberately reaching into his pocket as he spoke, a smile on his face. "We could always use this."

He whipped out the item. At first glance, it appeared to be a battered old screw driver.

"Huh? What are you going to do with a screwdriver?" Junpei asked in a somewhat confused tone.

Yoshiro twirled it in his hand. "Well, how about we make our way to the gym and I show you?"

* * *

><p>"And… done." Yoshiro said, twisting the screwdriver, smiling as the lock turned, and the gym door opened. He removed the screwdriver and the paperclips from his pocket from the keyhole. "We can get in now."<p>

His intuition was correct; the gym only had a simple wafer-tumbler lock. It took some time – he hadn't picked a lock in years – but with memory like his, it didn't take long to remember exactly how to move the paperclip, and how to twist the screwdriver, so that the lock yielded in a matter of minutes.

Junpei whistled. "Dude… what are you, some kinda ninja or something? That was the first time I saw someone pick a lock before."

"Indeed…" Mitsuru murmured before Yoshiro felt that icy aura again. "But Akio, I hope you realize that what you did was no less than a crime. Possession of lock picking tools of any kind is illegal."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Senpai," he said coyly, "This is just a regular screwdriver and paperclip. I just happened to have brought them with me."

That was partly true. The screwdriver in his hand _is _a regular screwdriver – to anyone else, perhaps. But, to him, it was a valuable tool, one that had saved him from starvation frequently during his time in the streets.

Mitsuru still didn't look convinced, so he added, "And besides, you could always punish me later, after we saved Fuuka."

Mitsuru finally sighed. "Very well," she said before fixing a sharp glare at him, "But expect severe punishment once this is over, Akio."

Yoshiro gulped. He just knew that his life will be that much harder from now on. "Yes, Senpai," he managed to say.

"So, how should we do this?" Minato interjected, coming to his rescue.

Mitsuru sighed again before starting. "We'll divide into teams again. Four of you will enter Tartarus, and one of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position."

"I'll go," Akihiko said immediately. He turned to Minato. "You should come, too. You can take the lead, like always."

"In that case, Yoshiro should come as well," Minato answered, "We don't know what to expect up there. Another person that could hit multiple weaknesses would help a lot."

Yoshiro smiled. "Fine by me."

"Um, then I'll e the fourth –" Yukari began before Junpei interrupted her.

"Wait a second! Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail?" How could Yoshiro forget? He had to solo a host of shadow and risk falling off a speeding train because of that!

…Moving on…

"Gimme a chance to make up for that!" Junpei begged.

"Oh, come on! It's not always about you!" Yukari argued irritatedly, "Besides, you didn't 'accidentally' screw up."

Akihiko once again stopped this entire thing from escalating. "Alright, Junpei, We'll give you another shot."

Junpei grinned and fist pumped. "Sweet! Thanks!"

Yukari didn't seem too pleased about it. "What's wrong, Yukari? You don't want to stay behind with Mitsuru?"Akihiko asked, noticing the look on her face.

"Um, n-no, it's fine," she answered half-heartedly, not fooling anyone. It's obvious she needs a few lessons on hiding her real thoughts.

Maybe Mitsuru could give her some pointers while they're waiting.

"It's almost time," Mitsuru reminded them all.

Minato took out their weapons and hands them all their own. Yoshiro couldn't decide which is weirder; the fact that Minato could take items out of hammer-space, or the realization that he'd grown used to it. Regardless, he took his greaves and put them on, testing their weight as he always does by kicking the air.

"Let's go," Minato prompted, stepping into the gym, sword in hand.

* * *

><p>"…Gah, my head…" Yoshiro murmured, feeling the definite throbbing at the base of his skull. With some effort he brought himself into a sitting position and stayed there, rubbing his head.<p>

That… sucked. He did _not _expect the gym to give way under them like that. It felt like he was inside a nightmarish washing machine. He's definitely adding that to his list of "things never to do again," right next to making fun of Momoka's weight and meeting the Reaper.

He shook his head hard. He can't waste his time sitting there. From the looks of it, he's separated from the others, which means that now, not only do they have to find Fuuka, they also have to find each other.

"Senpai? Could you give me the location of the others?" Yoshiro asked, tapping his earpiece. But the only reply he received was static.

He sighed. "Great. What next?"

...He immediately wished he hadn't said that.

_Clank. ._

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he murmured incredulously. Seriously! Now!

He jumped backwards just as he heard the loud bang of a huge revolver, and the light of a hama spell hit the spot where he was standing. From the hallway in front of him, he could see the ominous figure already, its revolvers trained at its target.

Him.

Yoshiro dashed out of there as fast as he could.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Death and the Full Moon

* * *

><p><strong>Music: Battle (Arranged Version) –Revelations Persona<strong>

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Whoa!" Yoshiro exclaimed as he dodged the latest barrage of hama spells behind him, all the while maintaining his furious pace, trying desperately to outrun the Reaper.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Dammit!" he yelled as he barely managed to dodge another barrage. This is crazy! He wouldn't last a minute if that monster catches up! He has to find the stair room, fast.

He rounded another corner, and groaned in dismay at what was waiting for him. Shadows, five of them to boot. Granted, they appeared to only be frivolous mayas, but seriously? Why, when he has Death incarnate chasing him with guns?

…Great. They noticed him.

The shadows oozed forward, clearly intent on tearing him limb from limb.

Yoshiro scowled. "Get out of my way!" he yelled, kneeing the closest one with enough force to shatter its mask. The others swiped pathetically to try and hit him, but he dodged them easily enough.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Whoa! Almost got hit that time!

He glanced quickly behind him to see the Reaper gaining quickly, both revolvers trained at him. "Oh, come on! Give me a break!"

One of the mayas took that chance to lunge at him. Yoshiro managed to see it in time to spin on his heels and dodge, but not before the shadow grazed his right arm.

BANG! BANG!

Alright, enough is enough!

Yoshiro kept going with his spin, extending his leg as he spun, catching the shadow that had swiped at him with the top of his foot and, with the force of his kick, propelled it straight at the onslaught of hama spells. It shrieked once as the barrage of light hit it before exploding into ichor.

As for the rest…

Yoshiro pulled out his evoker. "Charon!"

BANG!

As the scythe materialized in his hand, he swung it straight down at the third maya, cleaving it in half. He then splayed his left hand at the fourth and blasted it to oblivion with a garu spell.

The Reaper drew closer.

The last maya lunged.

Perfect.

With another spin, Yoshiro dodged the lunge. Not wasting any time, he swung his scythe like a baseball bat at the still airborne maya, sending it rocketing straight at the Reaper's face. He spun around and ran before he could see the impact.

Of course, he did hear the loud, satisfying splat.

Yoshiro continued running. He knew that what he did only slowed the Reaper down momentarily. Well, at least it's not shooting at him anymore. Don't know if that's going to last, though.

Where's that damned stair room?

Yoshiro turned another corner and saw an intersection up ahead. Which way should he go?

Making his decision, Yoshiro took the left corridor, and stopped in his tracks immediately afterwards.

It was a dead end.

"Damn!"Yoshiro exclaimed. He turned around. "Oh come on!" Yoshiro yelled in frustration. In the corridor behind him he could see the stair case. What is with his luck today! What did he do to make god hate him so much! He ran towards the stair room –

And heard the chains to his right.

He just had enough time to turn his head and see the Reaper before the white energy hit him square on the chest, and he crumpled to the ground.

**End Music**

* * *

><p>"H-hey, are you alright? Please wake up!"<p>

Ugh… who is it? So… tired…

"H-hang on. I'll…"

…What?

"…Gah!" Yoshiro exclaimed as a familiar foul taste assailed his mouth. He sat up quickly, grabbing his throat. "Dammit, Junpei, not another revival – " he started to say before he opened his eyes and saw that the person next to him was not Junpei, or anyone he knew, for that matter. She has short, greenish hair and a pale complexion. Most importantly, though, is the fact that she is wearing a Gekoukan uniform.

"Are you… Fuuka Yamagishi?" Yoshiro asked, rubbing his throbbing head.

"Ah… yes." The girl answered slowly with a soft voice.

Yoshiro continued to rub his head. What's going on? The last thing he remembered, he was shot by a hama spell from the Reaper. But a quick scan told him that the Reaper is nowhere to be found. In fact, they seem to be just inside the stair room. What happened? Did he roll into the room after getting knocked unconscious?

"Um… excuse me…" Fuuka's voice broke his train of thoughts, "Do you know where we are…? I was at the school, and then…"

Right. What happened with the Reaper's not important right at the moment.

"That'll… take some time to explain," Yoshiro said slowly. He tried to stand and groaned out loud as he felt his body protesting.

"A-are you hurt?" Fuuka said in alarm.

"No, just a little stiff," Yoshiro said casually, trying to force a smile. The aftertaste of the revival bead, however, made that rather difficult. "Ugh. That stuff is really nasty," he mumbled to himself.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Fuuka apologized meekly, "I – I found that some time ago. I thought it was medicine and… you were on the ground…"

"Oh, no, it's fine," Yoshiro said quickly. "It's really great that you did that. God knows what would've happened if a Shadow had found me unconscious."

"Shadow…? You mean, the monsters?" Fuuka asked.

"Yeah, basically," Yoshiro answered. "Why, have you come across any of them? Are you injured?"

Fuuka shook her head. "No, I'm not. I've managed to avoid them so far," she answered.

Yoshiro whistled."Wow. That's… really impressive. How?"

Fuuka blushed. "Well, I don't really know… I can just sort of tell where they are."

Hmm. Akihiko did say that Fuuka had the potential. Could this ability be it?

"Well, alright then. For now, let's try and find the others." Yoshiro said.

"Others? There are other people here?" Fuuka asked.

Yoshiro nodded. "Yup. My friends and I came in here to find you, but we kinda got separated."

"Oh. Well, thank you… um…"

"Oh, I haven't really introduced myself, have I? I'm Yoshiro Akio, from class 2-F. Nice to meet you, Fuuka-san." Yoshiro said with a kind smile. Fuuka seemed to be nervous enough as it is. There's no need to put her even more on edge.

"It's nice to meet you too, Yoshiro-kun," Fuuka said, her body language easing up slightly.

Now, before everything else…

"Um, Fuuka-san, this may seem like an odd question, but have you seen my evoker?" Yoshiro asked as he noticed his empty hands and holster.

"Evoker?" Fuuka asked, baffled.

"It looks like a gun, but it's really not," Yoshiro said, his eyes searching the stair room to no avail. "It's how we fight the Shadows." He tapped his earpiece again, but the only thing that answered him continued to be static. "Well, looks like we're on our own. And without my Evoker, it'll be bad if we run into Shadows… Damn."

"Um," Fuuka said quietly, "I- I think I can take us to your friends…"

Yoshiro raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Fuuka nodded. "I can sort of sense them… They feel different from the monsters… And it feels like they're close by."

Yoshiro grinned. "Well then, by all means, lead the way, Fuuka-san."

It wasn't long before Yoshiro and Fuuka started to hear some voices, and as they continued in that direction, Yoshiro was able to make out someone's words.

"Oh yeah! Did you hear a voice while you were in here? Uh, kinda like…"

Oh, that sounds like Junpei! "Oi! Junpei! Yoshiro yelled, "You there?"

"Nah, that wasn't even close. That was more like Yoshiro's voice." Junpei said.

"Back here, Idiot!" Yoshiro yelled irritably, turning the corner, seeing not only Junpei but Akihiko and Minato as well.

"Looks like you made it in one piece," Akihiko remarked.

"Yup," he said, "and look who I found." He prompted for Fuuka to come out. "Everyone, Fuuka Yamagishi. Fuuka-san, these are my friends."

"Hello…" Fuuka greeted.

"Wow, you found her! That's awesome!" Junpei said excitedly before addressing Fuuka in his version of a heroic voice. "Never fear, Junpei's here!"

"I'm glad you're okay," Akihiko said, "both of you." He then turned to Yoshiro. "Have you told her what's going on?"

"Well, the basic gist of it," Yoshiro said. "I thought the rest could wait until after we're out of here."

Akihiko nodded. "Alright then." He then turned to Fuuka and took out what appeared to be another Evoker. "Hang on to this."

Fuuka looked startled. "B-but this is…!"

"It's one of those Evokers I told you about," Yoshiro reassured her.

"Oh. Right." Fuuka said, taking it.

"Alright, let's get outta here!" Akihiko prompted.

"Whoa, check out the moon! I've never seen it so bright."

They had just started searching for an exit when they saw the moon from a window in Tartarus. It was full, glowing like a sickening orb in the sky.

"Some research indicates that the Shadows are affected by the phases of the moon," Akihiko said, "Of course, the same can be said for humans."

"That would explain Yuka-tan's mood swings," Junpei said jokingly. "Hey, wasn't it a full moon the night we went to the monorail?"

Wait. What?

"Was it?" Akihiko asked with a serious tone.

"I think so… why?"

A sickening feeling came over him. Can it be…

"Hey, did you see the moon on the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?" Akihiko asked Minato. The answer confirmed Yoshiro's fears.

"It was full."

Akihiko immediately tried his transceiver frantically. "Mitsuru, are you there!"

This time, they could catch some of Mitsuru's voice. "Akihiko…? …Shadows –"

"Hey, can you hear me? Mitsuru, come in!"

"… Be careful…"

"Mitsuru! Mitsuru!" Akihiko yelled into his transceiver. No one answered.

Fuuka suddenly gasped. "… What is this thing?" She breathed, "It's much bigger than the others… and it's attacking someone…"

That did it.

"Wh-what's going on!" Junpei asked, baffled.

"It's one of Them! If my guess is right, they come every full moon! We have to hurry" Akihiko said urgently.

* * *

><p>"What in the world..!"<p>

The scene in the lobby could not be worse. As they stepped out of the warp panel, they could see what remains of Mitsuru's bike near the stairs, and Yukari lying on the floor. Across from her are two large Shadows. One was round and fat, with a blue dress and a cape, while the other is tall, with a red cross on its chest. The tall one has Mitsuru in its hand.

"There's two of em!" Akihiko exclaimed. "Mitsuru!"

Mitsuru groaned. She's alive, but it's obvious that she's been hurt.

"What's going on!" Yukari exclaimed frantically, "Nothing's working!"

The shadows noticed them and roared, waving their weapons.

"Oh shit! They look pissed!" Junpei said in a shaky voice.

Then, as if to add more confusion to the situation, a girl suddenly staggered in from the entrance.

"Hey! Isn't that!"

"Why the hell is she here!"

Well, whoever she is, Akihiko and Junpei seem to know her.

"F-Fuuka…" she murmured before collapsing.

…Alright, Yoshiro is completely lost. Does this have anything to do with the others' interrogation of Mr. Ekoda?

"Moriyama-san?" Fuuka said with disbelief.

Moriyama? As in, Natsuki Moriyama, the girl Mitsuru told him had bullied Fuuka before?

…Wait, why is Fuuka running towards her…

"What are you doing!" Akihiko asked incredulously.

"Please, get out of here!" Fuuka begged the girl, "It's dangerous!"

"I…I wanted to tell you… I'm sorry…" the girl murmured. The entire scene would have been extremely touching.

Except for the fact that two giant, murderous Shadows are right in front of them.

The fat one moves towards them, raising its staff.

Fuuka gasped. She pulls out the Evoker Akihiko had given her.

"Wait! That's not a weapon!" Akihiko exclaimed.

"I know," Fuuka said.

Everyone gasped, because her voice seemed to be resonating from inside their heads.

The Shadow swung its staff.

BANG!

Both Shadows were toppled backwards as the giant womb-like sphere of Fuuka's Persona enveloped both her and Natsuki, deflecting the blow. The Persona's upper body looks like a woman, with bandages around her eyes, while its lower body is the sphere Fuuka is currently in.

The tall shadow, in its fall, dropped Mitsuru, and Akihiko runs over to her. "Mitsuru!" he exclaimed in a worried voice.

"…I'm alright," Mitsuru said, though from the sound of her voice she clearly isn't. "Be careful… Normal attacks won't work on these Shadows. And all of our instruments have been destroyed…"

"Just stay still!" Akihiko urged, "Besides…"

"…_I can see…"_ Fuuka's voice rang in their heads.

Mitsuru gasped, "Is that voice…"

"_I…I can sense these monsters' weaknesses, somehow…"_

"For real!" Junpei exclaimed with amazement.

"…Just as I thought. Mitsuru, let her take your place," Akihiko said to Mitsuru.

"I get it now," she replied. "Yamagishi, can you assist the others?"

"_I'll do my best!"_

"Yoshiro," Minato said, getting his attention before throwing Yukari's Evoker at him. "You might need that."

Yoshiro caught it, grinning. "Thanks."

"Stay back, Mitsuru! We'll take care of this!" Akihiko said.

Then the four of them rushed at the Shadows.

**Music: Master of Shadow – Persona 3**

"Junpei, Akihiko, take that tall one. Yoshiro and I'll take care of the other," Minato ordered, already in his "leader" mode.

"_I'll try and find out the enemy's weakness." _Fuuka said in their minds, _"Just let me know when."_

"Now will be good, Fuuka," Minato said.

"_Okay, just give me some time."_

Meanwhile, the fat Shadow screeched and swung its baton at Yoshiro.

"I don't think so!"

BANG!

As the Evoker turned into a scythe in his hand he brought it up, catching the blow. He then spun his scythe down, embedding the tip on the floor and trapping the Shadow's staff. "Minato, now!" he yelled.

BANG!

Yoshiro rolled out of the way as Orpheus rushed the Shadow, bashing it on its head with his lyre. The Shadow screeched and fell backwards.

"_I got it. The fat one is weak to physical attacks, while the tall one is weak to magic," _Fuuka's voice said.

"Alright. Thanks, Fuuka." Yoshiro exclaimed, lifting his scythe out of the ground, racing towards the still incapacitated fat Shadow. He jumped up at the last minute and swung his scythe down in a deadly arc, hitting the Shadow right at the center of its stomach, embedding its tip into the Shadow. The Shadow screeched again.

"I'm not done yet!" he shouted. Still in midair, he somersaulted, using the scythe to steady himself, and brought the heel of his greaves down on the Shadow's mask with a loud impact.

That should do it.

"_SCREEEEEEE!"_

Or not.

The Shadow's stomach suddenly opened up, and with another scream the Shadow conjured up a giant tornado that blasted him with enough force to slam his entire body against the wall of the lobby head first.

"Gah!" he exclaimed in pain.

"_Yoshiro-kun!" _ Fuuka exclaimed in a worried tone.

"I'm fine!" he said, shaking his head, even though he's not. His ears are ringing, and he could feel blood trickling from his head. At best, he's got a concussion just from slamming into the wall. Nonetheless, he picked up his scythe and rushed back into the fray.

The fat Shadow had regained its footing, and is now attacking Minato with the same move that it had used to throw him into the wall. For some reason, however, it didn't seem to having nearly as much of an effect against Minato.

"_Yoshiro-kun, the Shadow's weakness has changed. It's now weak to fire." _Fuuka told him.

"Got it," he said. He splayed his hand at the Shadow. "Agi!" he exclaimed, sending a blast of fire at the Shadow. The Shadow saw it, but for whatever reason its movements seemed sluggish, and the blast hit it dead on its mask, knocking it back once more. Yoshiro ran up to Minato.

"You okay?" he asked.

"No, but nowhere near as bad as you," he said, bringing his Evoker to his head. "Dia."

BANG!

Ah. Minato had switched his Persona to Alp. That explains why the Shadow wasn't doing much damage to him. And from the Shadow's sluggish movements, he could guess that it's been hit by Alp's Sukunda as well.

Yoshiro felt energy flowing back into him from the healing spell. "Thanks."

"No problem."

The Shadow finally managed to right itself back up again, but it's not looking too good. He'd guess that two more good hits would finish it. It screeched at them, its stomach about to open again to unleash that wind spell.

Not this time.

BANG!

"Orpheus!"

The master of strings strum his lyre faster than the Shadow's stomach could open and a blast of fire engulfed the Shadow. Yoshiro followed suit, splaying his hand at the Shadow.

"Agi!"

"_SCREEEEEEEEEEE!"_

With one final death wail, the Shadow collapsed and exploded into ichor. Now all that's left is the other –

"_Look out!"_

Yoshiro turned just in time to see Junpei sailing through the air towards them. They collided into a tangled heap.

"Man, that thing is tough," Junpei said with shakily.

"Junpei, get off me," Yoshiro ordered, trying to untangle himself.

"Whoa!" That was Akihiko, wasn't it? Why does he sound…

Oh joy.

Yoshiro managed to untangle himself from Junpei and roll out of the way before Akihiko came crashing down on them both. He made it, but Junpei and Minato weren't so lucky. Just as they finally managed to stand up, Akihiko's impact knocked them down again.

The Shadow they were facing roared in triumph, waving its humongous sword wildly.

"Ugh…" Akihiko groaned, rubbing his head. "Be careful… that thing's strong."

No kidding. It just sent both Junpei and Akihiko flying.

The Shadow rushed up to them, raising its sword haphazardly and bringing it down with deadly force. Yoshiro lifted his scythe to block it, but the blow was much stronger than the other Shadow's, and it was all that he could do to deflect it.

The Shadow brought its sword up again and swung down, this time not once but twice.

"Gaah!" Yoshiro exclaimed, desperately parrying the blows. He could have easily dodged them but…

He glanced at his friends behind him, still in their heap. No, that's not an option.

The Shadow brought its sword up once more, and, this time, it gripped the sword with both its hands.

"Oh, crap," Yoshiro murmured.

"_Yoshiro-kun!" _Fuuka shouted with a distressed tone.

And suddenly Charon's voice rang in his mind.

"_**I've got this."**_

His hands suddenly lifted on their own, bringing the scythe up to block the blow. **"Fuuka! What's its weakness!"**

Fuuka gasped. _"Y-Yoshiro-kun?"_

"**Its weakness, Fuuka!" **he heard himself bark, **"Now!"**

The sword swung down…

"_I- It's weak to electricity!"_

The Shadow's sword touched his scythe.

"**ZIO!" **This time he could hear Charon, instead of himself, saying the spell. He felt the energy travel up his arms to his scythe, and watched with awe as the tip glowed yellow. With a loud boom lightning arced from the scythe to the Shadow's sword, and then to the Shadow itself, throwing it back. Lightning continued to arc mercilessly onto the Shadow until it finally exploded into ichor with a screech.

Everyone merely stared in silence.

**End Music**

"Wh- wha…" Yoshiro stammered as he felt himself regain control of his body, looking at his scythe. What the hell just happened!

"Yoshiro, what the hell was that?" Junpei asked him in awe.

"I-I don't know," he answered truthfully.

"That didn't seem like any Zio spell I've ever seen," Akihiko commented.

Obviously not. The Shadow was zapped by lightning at least five times!

Minato, who seemed to have been pondering something, finally spoke up. "Let's not get into this right now. It's been a long night, and we need to get Fuuka and Natsumi to safety first."

The others grudgingly agreed.

Fuuka's persona had just disappeared, and she looked at them with a worried expression. "Are there more of them…?" she asked.

"Don't worry," Akihiko reassured, "it's over."

Natsuki seemed to have slowly regained her senses, and was now looking up to Fuuka with remorseful eyes. "Fuuka… You…"

"A-are you alright?" Fuuka asked her.

"Yeah…" Natsuki answered slowly.

"Thank goodness…" Fuuka breathed before collapsing. Everyone gathered closer to her in alarm. Yoshiro was about to as well, when something caught the corner of his eye.

Is that…

* * *

><p>"Hah, hah," Yoshiro panted, running out of Tartarus. His eyes darted quickly from left to right, trying to find any movement, but nothing stirred.<p>

"Momoka!" he yelled. "Momoka!"

He saw her, he's damn sure of it. It was from the corner of his eyes, and it was fleeting, but he _damn _sure he saw her.

He tried to take one more step, but a sharp pain in his chest stopped him in his tracks, and he collapsed to his knees.

What's happening? Why… does he feel so… weak…

…Dammit…

* * *

><p>As Yoshiro's head touched the ground, a shadowy figure appeared. It moved towards him, and bent down, examining his unconscious form. It reached out to touch him, but just then, it heard voices coming out of Tartarus.<p>

By the time his friends had reached him the figure had melted back into the Dark Hour.

* * *

><p>Whew. This chapter was a tough one. hopefully this was enough to make up for the cliffhanger at chapter 13.<p>

Any questions, comments, query, put them in the reviews. I'll do my best to address any questions you may have.

Just not tonight, cause I'm in dire need of sleep. Later!


	15. Chapter 15

Wow... It's been a while, huh? Really sorry about that, I really meant to have this up last week, but... yeah... didn't have power for the whole week. Stupid freak winter storm in October.

Well, enough of my griping. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Punishment time<p>

* * *

><p>Yoshiro groaned, lifting himself up groggily. Is he in a bed? Funny, he doesn't <em>remember<em> returning to the dorm. And why does his bed feel… different. Almost like…

Oh, for the love of god.

He opened his eyes to confirm his fears. White sheets, white walls, sterile air… Yup, he's in a hospital again.

"Dammit!" he cursed. Why! He'd only been here last month! Why does he have to be back inside this accursed place again?

"Finally awake, I see," someone said from his right. Yoshiro turned to see Mitsuru standing there, arms crossed.

"Um, hello, Senpai, were you waiting for me to wake up?" Yoshiro asked.

"No. Akihiko and I are here to monitor Yamagishi's condition when the doctor informed me that you'd be likely to wake up today," Mitsuru said with a sigh. "Honestly, you seem to be even frailer than Yamagishi. This is the second time you've fainted from exhaustion."

"Well, the circumstances are _kinda_ different," Yoshiro pointed out.

"Still, with this and the evoker you managed to loose, you've cost quite a great deal," Mitsuru said.

Instantly, Yoshiro paled. He's not exactly sure how much an evoker costs, but he knows it's _definitely_ not cheap. "I-I'll find it, Senpai," he stated vehemently, already knowing the futility of that statement. Tartarus shifts every day. Hell, it shifts every time they return to the _lobby_. Finding that evoker would be near impossible.

Mitsuru sighed again. "It's alright. After all, you've all risked your lives in the Dark Hour. I think that far exceeds the monetary costs," she assured

"Oh… really?" Yoshiro said, relief washing over his face.

Mitsuru nodded. "It would take some time to make a new one, though, so until then, I can't have you joining us to Tartarus."

"That… seemed more than reasonable," Yoshiro said slowly, trying hard not to bite his lips. Yes, the offer _is_ reasonable, especially considering the fact that it _was_ his fault. But that would also mean that he won't be able to search for Momoka for a while. But given his choices…

Mitsuru, oblivious to the turmoil in his mind, simply continued. "It would take two weeks at most to get another one ready," she said, "In the meantime, I have another task for you to do."

Yoshiro lifted his eyebrows. "Another… task…?"

"Consider it your punishment for the other night."

Punishment? What is she –

…

Oh. Right. The lock- picking thing.

"Senpai… you were serious?" he asked.

Mitsuru nodded resolutely. "Lock- picking is still a crime, Akio. And you did give me your word that you would accept the punishment for it."

… He did, didn't he?

"You should be released from the hospital tomorrow, so I'll tell you the details then. Understood?"

Yoshiro sighed. He's smart enough to know that he couldn't weasel his way out of this one. "Yes, Senpai," he said in a defeated tone.

* * *

><p>Yoshiro sighed as the bell that signals the day's end rang. The day wasn't too brutal, and he hadn't missed much, since he was only out for a day. The problem, of course, is now.<p>

Junpei walked up to his desk with a big smirk on his face, obviously knowing about Mitsuru's "punishment." "Tough luck, huh, Yoshiro? And you just got out of the hospital and all."

"Oh, shut up Junpei," Yoshiro said irritably, "You don't have to rub it in."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Minato said, obviously trying to cheer him up. If only his expression matched his words.

"But don't you think Mitsuru-senpai's being a bit harsh?" Oh, hey, Yukari, join the pity party. "I mean, you _did_ get us into the gym."

Yoshiro smiled ironically. "Well I did give her my word, and it _is_ Mitsuru-senpai we're talking about here," he said, "there's not much to do now besides grinning and bearing with it."

"Well, good luck, then," Minato said as the door slid open and Mitsuru walked in, "You'll need it."

Mitsuru walked over to them, and as she did, everyone else conveniently excused themselves and walked out of the classroom, leaving Yoshiro alone with her. "Are you ready, Akio?" Mitsuru asked him.

Yoshiro sighed again and stood up. "Where to?"

Mitsuru smiled, deviously.

* * *

><p>What. The. Hell.<p>

There's a mountain of paper in front of him, a real, knee high, mountain of cluttered paper that looks as though it hasn't been touched for some time.

Mitsuru didn't shepherd him far – only to the adjacent student council room which, oddly enough, was empty, save for the massive mountain of paper he's now staring at. "Senpai…" Yoshiro asked slowly, "What is this?"

"These are the 'suggestions' that the student council had received, everything from club complaints to personal issues that were directed to the student council is here," Mitsuru answered with a smile that shows she's _really_enjoying his bewilderment.

"…And what am I supposed to do about these?" Yoshiro asked, though he could already guess what the answer would be.

"It's quite simple, really. I just want you to organize them so that we could know which would require attention and which we could discard," Mitsuru answered, that smile still on her face.

"But… isn't that, I don't know, the _Student__Council__'__s_ job?" Yoshiro pointed out.

Mitsuru sighed. "It is. However, for some reason, attendance at meetings had decreased dramatically quite recently," she said with an irritated tone, "in fact, there was supposed to be a meeting today, but, as you can see, no one is here."

…Wow. That's… kinda sad.

"So, basically, you want me to pick up their slack?" Yoshiro ventured.

"Exactly. I would do it myself, but I'm stretched thin enough as is," Mitsuru said somewhat exasperatedly.

Yoshiro could believe that. But still… "I don't know, Senpai. It sounds more like you're offering me a job rather than an actual punishment."

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Do you _want_ something more severe?"

"N-no, this is good." Yoshiro quickly said.

"Think of it this way – it's boring, tedious work that you will have to do constantly," Mitsuru said.

"Constantly?"

Mitsuru chuckled again. "Of course. Even if you do organize this once, in a few more weeks another pile will just form."

Alright… this is sounding more like a punishment now.

Mitsuru looked up at the clock. "Well, I have to get going. I still need to check up on Yamagishi's condition," she said, heading for the door, "Oh, and another thing, Akio. If it turns out that you've shirked your duties, expect –"

"swift execution. I got it, Senpai," Yoshiro said with a sigh.

Mitsuru smirked one last time before leaving him alone with the mountain of paper.

Yoshiro sighed and sank into one of the chairs. The sooner he starts the better. He reached for the first piece of paper, only to disturb the balance of the pile and send paper streaming on his hand.

"Dammit," he muttered, trying to free his hand.

…In retrospect, that was probably a bad idea.

"Ow!"

* * *

><p>Twenty four paper cuts. Twenty four <em>damned<em> paper cuts; eighteen on his hands, five on his arms, and one just inexplicably on his cheek for no apparent reason. And he didn't even finish sorting out _half_of that accursed pile, even when all he had to do is skim through the writings.

Finally back in the relative comfort of his room, Yoshiro rubbed his temples with the hands he had managed to bandage with the first aid kit, trying to clear his mind of all the crap written on those papers. The way he sees it, there are really only three places to sort those damned papers into; back to the pile, garbage, and the police station. Seriously, some of those just sound so... ugh. They make him feel ashamed to even be in the same school as them. And he has to do all that again _tomorrow_. He could see now why Mitsuru believed that to be a fitting punishment. It's just outright _torture._

"I should get some supplies for tomorrow," he mumbled to himself. A pair of gloves, a few boxes to put them into, a Zippo lighter to burn all the psycho ones…

He collapsed into bed with a dejected sigh. Argh, enough, he's too tired to think. He'll deal with it again tomorrow.

* * *

><p><em>Yoshiro looked around him. The last thing he remembered, he was falling asleep. And now…<em>

_Barren, gray fields. Equally desolate skies. A few dead trees here and there to accentuate the destitute. Great. He's back in his "soul" again. Now where's –_

_Oh, speak of the devil._

" **What's with that look? Disappointed to see me?"**

…

_God Dammit!_

_Charon __winced._**"****Hey, ****easy ****with ****the ****cursing ****in ****your ****head. ****I ****could ****still ****hear ****it, ****remember?****"**

_Yoshiro scowled. "It's the least you deserve. You're interrupting my much needed rest here."_

**"Oh, I ****know. ****That ****woman ****could ****be ****brutal, ****couldn****'****t ****she? ****Though, ****death ****by ****paper ****cuts ****would ****be ****a ****fitting ****way ****for ****us ****to ****go,****" **_Charon __mused, _**"****There****'****s ****a ****certain ****irony ****to ****it ****that ****makes ****it ****so ****alluring, ****don****'****t ****you ****think?****"**

"_I wouldn't know. I'm not suicidal," Yoshiro retorted._

_Charon __chuckled._**"****I ****know. ****I****'****m**** '****you,****' ****remember?****" **_he __said __with __a __smirk._

"_Well, then, 'me,' if that's the case, why would you have to take control of my body when we fight?"_

_Charon __raised __an __eyebrow, _**"****I ****was ****starting ****to ****wonder ****if ****you****'****ve ****actually ****noticed.****"**

"_It's kinda hard not to that third time," Yoshiro retorted again._

_Charon __chuckled __again. _**"****So ****what, ****you ****want ****me ****to ****stop ****butting ****in****to ****your ****fights?****" **_he __asked __before __pausing __and __smiling __knowingly. _**"****Ah. ****No, ****that****'****s ****not ****it. ****You ****don****'****t ****really ****care ****if ****I ****do, ****do ****you?****"**

_Yoshiro shrugged. "Not really."_

_Charon __smirked. _**"****You ****know, ****there****'****s ****something ****really ****messed ****up ****with ****you ****if ****you****'****re ****fine ****with ****a ****figment ****of ****your ****imagination ****taking ****control ****of ****your ****body like that.****"**

"_Figment __of __my __imagination __or __not, __as __long __as __it __helps __me __find __Momoka, __I __don__'__t __really __care,__" __Yoshiro __said,__ "__I__'__m __not __a __very __particular __person. __What __I _do _want __to __know __is __why __I __have __to __lose __consciousness __after __that, __because __that __could __be __dangerous.__"_

_Charon __shrugged. _**"****Don****'****t ****look ****at ****me, ****that****'****s ****all ****you, ****right ****there.****"**

_Yoshiro raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"_

"**Basically, ****all ****I ****did ****was ****force ****us ****to**** '****switch****' ****positions ****for ****that ****duration ****of ****time. ****The ****problem ****is ****that ****your ****body ****gets ****strained ****because ****of ****this. ****When ****you****'****re ****still ****taking**** '****my****' ****form, ****I ****could ****bear ****some ****of ****that ****with ****you, ****but ****as ****soon ****as ****you ****turn ****back**** –" **_Charon __snapped __his __fingers. _**"****All ****that ****strain ****goes ****to ****you.****"**

_Yoshiro let that sink in for a moment. "So… what you're saying is that I'm too weak?"_

"**In ****a****way,****" **_Charon __said. _**"****You****'****re ****certainly ****not ****using**** '****my****' ****powers ****as ****effectively ****as ****you ****should, ****that****'****s ****for ****sure.****"**

_Yoshiro __frowned.__ "__Well, __maybe __if __you __told __me _how_…" __he __said __defensively,__ "__I __mean, __come __on, __what __was __with __that __trick __with __the __Zio __back __at __Tartarus? __How __did __you __do __that?__"_

_Charon __chuckled __again._**"****Well, ****I **_**could **_**tell ****you, ****but ****where****'****s ****the ****fun ****in ****that? ****You****'****ll ****get ****more ****satisfaction ****figuring ****it ****out ****yourself.****"**

"…_You're a jerk you know that?" Yoshiro commented._

"**Only ****because ****you ****are ****one ****yourself,****" **_Charon __retorted __back, _**"****But ****still, ****isn****'****t ****there ****a ****truth ****to ****what ****I ****said?****"**

_Yoshiro scowled again. "Stop looking inside my head, dammit."_

"**I ****can****'****t. ****I****'****m ****kinda ****inside ****it, ****remember?****"**_Charon __said, __a __smug __smile __appearing __on __his __face. _**"****I ****know ****everything ****about ****you. **_**Everything.**_**"**

"_...__Yeah, __that__'__s __not __awkward __at __all,__" __Yoshiro __said __sarcastically.__ "__Can __you __stop __with __that __tone? __Cause __I__'__m __certainly _not _a __god __damn __stalker.__"_

_Charon __chuckled __again._** "****No. ****But ****you ****do ****take ****pleasure in ****screwing ****with ****people****'****s ****heads.****"**

"_Only those who deserves it."_

"**And are you claiming that you don't?"**

… _Dammit!_

_Yoshiro sighed, rubbing his temples. "Alright, enough. This'll go on forever if we continue like this."_

"**Quitting already?"**

"_I'm smart enough to know when to quit," Yoshiro said, "We've already gone way off topic as it is. It's not worth it to keep going." He let a smile touch his lips, "After all, it's clear you don't want to say anything else. Right, 'Me'?"_

_Charon__'__s __eyes __narrowed __for __a __moment. __Then __the __same __smile __touched __his __lips. _**"… ****I ****really ****shouldn****'****t ****keep ****you ****here ****any ****longer. ****It****'****s ****almost ****morning,****" **_Charon __said._

_The __mist __around __them __started __to __thicken, __and __Charon__'__s __figure __begins __to __fade.__ "__Well, __whatever __it __is, __I _will _find __out. Eventually.__" __Yoshiro __said __before __Charon__'__s __figure __disappear._

_For __a__long __time, __the __only __thing __that __answered __him __is __silence. __Then, __in __a __clear __voice, __the __reply __came. _**"****You****could**_**try.**_**"**

* * *

><p>Yoshiro yawned and stretched, being careful not to disturb the piles that are already in front of him. Damn, he's tired. But at least Mitsuru's task gave him something to do other than think about what Charon said, because classes certainly didn't. The talk troubled him, but he can't bring himself to be upset by his Persona's unwillingness to talk, if only because he knows himself too well. He could leave it well enough alone for now.<p>

On another note…

He smiled proudly at his gloved hands. Lucky he decided to pick them up right before going to school. Without cutting himself on the papers every few minutes, he actually managed to sort the pile completely. He'd managed to organize them into three sections; club related, personal, and the pile he's going to heave to the furnace right after this. Seriously, some of these letters are just… messed up. Not that he's one to complain, of course, but _still_.

"Maybe I should get some bins for these," he murmured to himself. After all it'll make sorting them so much easier. He also should subdivide the groups even further, to make it more efficient. And perhaps –

His cellphone beeped, ending his thoughts. He quickly pulled it out and sighed when he saw that he had a text from Mitsuru. What now? Another part of his 'punishment', no doubt. This one _is_ starting to feel a bit light…

It wasn't.

"_Fuuka __is __being __released __from __the __hospital,__" _it read, _"__We__'__ll __talk __to __her __this __evening. __Come __to __the __Command __Room __as __soon __as __you __get __back.__"_

Well… this should be fun.


	16. Chapter 16

Hey all! I'm back!

I'm so sorry about the long hiatus. Things kinda sorta happened, so I wasn't able to focus on this for quite a while. And I had writer's block for the longest time too, which certainly didn't help.

Anyway, I'll try and post the next chapter soon-ish, assuming life doesn't throw me a curveball (again).

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: Assumptions<p>

* * *

><p>Yoshiro arrived at the Command Room just as Ikutsuki was about to talk.<p>

"Ah, Yoshiro. There you are," Ikutsuki acknowledged with that goofy smile before turning to Fuuka. "You're Fuuka Yamagishi, right?"

Fuuka seemed to be nervous. She stood up quickly and practically stuttered, "Y-yes."

Ikutsuki chuckled. "Relax, there's no need to be nervous. Why don't you have a seat? You too, Yoshiro."

Yoshiro nodded, examining the man covertly as he did. Unlike the others, he hadn't had much chance to interact with Ikutsuki. Not that he wants to; He doesn't know why, but something about the man just gets to him.

Ikutsuki continued on in the meantime. "Everyone, you did an excellent job uncovering the truth," he said, "I also wanted to let you know, the three girls have all regained consciousness."

Fuuka sighed. "What a relief…"

Really? Had she forgotten that those three girls were _bullying_ her before? Yoshiro resisted the urge to sigh. Some people just forgive easily, he supposed…

"From what I understand, they each came to school around midnight and waited for the security guard to leave," Ikutsuki continued, "They were attacked by Shadows near the gate, as the Dark Hour began. However, the facts became twisted because of rumors concerning a ghost story."

"Well, it _is _easier to accept that than the truth," Yoshiro pointed out, "And people just eat up those kinds of stories."

"Well, _I_ knew right from the beginning that it wasn't a ghost," Yukari said with a superior attitude.

"Sure you did," Minato commented with a completely neutral tone. Yoshiro nearly laughed at the casualness of the statement. From anyone else, that would've been blatant sarcasm, but from Minato…

That face is _way_ too blank.

"It's all my fault," Fuuka said with a distraught tone.

"Are you kidding!" Yukari exclaimed with disbelief, "You were the victim!"

"But, I made so many people worry…" Fuuka continued with that distraught tone.

"So?" Yoshiro said, a second faster than Yukari, who looked as though she was about to say something as well. "How is that your fault? The entire thing was beyond your control."

Mitsuru capitalized on his comment, standing up and walking until she stood next to Fuuka. "We could have lost that fight if you weren't there, Yamagishi," she said. "You saved our lives. You should feel good about yourself. You have a special power that you can use to help others."

Fuuka's face lightened. "A special power?"

Mitsuru nodded. "We call it 'Persona.' You could be a tremendous help to us. Will you lend us your strength?"

Fuuka seemed taken aback by the offer. "Are you asking me to join you?"

Mitsuru nodded, a welcoming smile on her face. Everyone else also seemed to agree except for Yukari, who now has a doubtful look on her face.

"You know, we're not trying to pressure you, so if you need some time to think about it," she said hesitantly. But Fuuka shook her head and stood up, and as she did, Yoshiro could see that her expression is considerably brighter than it was before.

"I'll do it," she said, "I'll help you!"

Again, it seemed as though Yukari was the only one that didn't think of that as good news. "A-are you sure? If you join, you'll have to live here,"

"And that's bad… how?" Yoshiro remarked, earning him a pretty evil glare from Yukari, which was well worth it. He could afford getting on Yukari's bad side.

Now, if it was Mitsuru…

He shivered.

The meeting winded down after that. Ikutsuki said something about the connection between the full moon and the appearances of the big Shadows, which seemed pretty obvious in Yoshiro's mind, especially after the last one. But, he supposed that stating the obvious is in Ikutsuki's job description.

It was only after the meeting, when they had all went back to their own rooms, that Yoshiro realized something else about the full moon, something more prevalent to him than the appearance of the enormous Shadows.

* * *

><p>The full moon seemed to be related to whatever happened to Momoka.<p>

Yoshiro spent much of school the next day on autopilot, his mind reviewing this assumption, and the more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself. The two times he had seen her were all during the full moon, after their battles with the giant Shadows: a month ago on the train tracks and just recently in Tartarus. Moreover, that night where she went cra – _disappeared_, he reminded himself – there was also a full moon. Everything fits.

Of course, he still has no clue as to why Momoka disappeared in the first place. All he's got to go upon so far are speculations. Maybe if he could know more about the Dark Hour, but as much as he tried to research it, he always came up empty handed. And the only explanation on Shadows he managed to get doesn't seem to apply to the monsters that roam in Tartarus. It's almost as if someone's making sure that nothing having to do with the Dark Hour gets out to the public.

He chuckled to himself. Who could possibly have enough time and money on their hands to do that?

…

Hang on…

What if…

…The Kirijo Group?

Yoshiro thought about it for a moment. It's definitely not too far a stretch. And honestly, it wouldn't surprise him one bit if he's right. The question is how to confirm his theory without a really painful confrontation with Mitsuru. Maybe if he plays his cards right he could –

The final bell cut off his mental planning. He got up and stretched.

"A lot on your mind?" Minato asked next to him.

Yoshiro looked back curiously. "Why do you ask?"

"You just had that blank look the entire day," Minato said.

Yoshiro can't resist laughing. "Are you really one to talk?" He chided, though he was quite impressed that Minato was able to tell. So far, the only other person that could tell when he's on autopilot was Momoka; after all, he'd perfected the art of "listening while not listening" quite some time ago, before Tou-san and Oka-san took him in. He supposed this just shows how perceptive the guy is behind that detached look.

"Well, I better be off," Yoshiro continued, "I still need to finish up Senpai's little 'punishment.'" He said. Which was true – there's still a nice, neat little pile of paper he needs to introduce to the furnace. He'll think up of some strategy to test out his theory in the meantime. With that, he made his way to the student council room.

When he arrived, though, he found Mitsuru sitting there, a paper in her hand.

"Senpai? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Mitsuru looked up from the paper. "Ah, Akio. Well, there was supposed to be a meeting today."

Yoshiro looked around at the empty room. "I…see…"

Mitsuru sighed, "Well, in any case, I'm very impressed with your work, Akio."

Yoshiro blinked. "Excuse me?" It took him a second to realize that the paper she was holding was one of the suggestions he had put on the "personal" pile. "Oh. Right. Well, I was stuck doing it anyway, so why not actually try?"

Mitsuru chuckled. "Indeed," she said, "though I have to say I'm quite surprised."

Yoshiro raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've done in two days what would have taken a week to do," Mitsuru remarked.

…Crap.

In his haste to finish, he forgot to take into account how long a _normal_ person would take to finish the job. Thankfully, Mitsuru didn't seem too suspicious of it. He decided to play it cool. "Is that so? Then I must be a faster worker than I thought," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Indeed," Mitsuru agreed, "We could use someone as efficient as you in the Student Council."

Yoshiro breathed a sigh of relief mentally. Outwardly he chuckled. "That's a tempting offer. I'll think about it," he said.

"Say, Senpai, when will my new Evoker be ready?" he asked. It had crossed his mind that he hadn't really gotten a definitive date on when he'd get a new one.

"Hmm? Oh, it should be ready in about two weeks," she answered.

Yoshiro groaned. "Isn't that kinda long?"

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know what it takes to make an Evoker, Akio? It's not a simple process."

"I guess," Yoshiro said with a sigh, "It's still kinda depressing just sitting around for two weeks while the rest of you risk your lives in Tartarus."

Mitsuru chuckled. "We'll be fine. Yamagishi will be taking my place to support the team, so I can be in the front lines again."

"Oh, really?" Yoshiro remarked, making a silent prayer to the poor Shadows that will be at her mercy from now on, "Well, that's good then."

"Indeed," Mitsuru said. "Now, if that's all –"

"Right, right, you must be busy," Yoshiro said, "Let me just get that pile right there," he gestured towards his reject pile, still unburned and sullying the world with their profanity, "I need to introduce it to a furnace."

"Oh. I was wondering why you chose to group such… singular… letters together," Mitsuru said, handing him the pile, holding it as if they carried a deadly disease, "by all means."

Yoshiro took the pile, and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, Senpai."

"Alright. And don't forget to take care of next week's suggestions as well."

Yoshiro sighed. "Yes, Senpai," he said before leaving the Student Council room.

* * *

><p>After disposing of the...trash... Yoshiro headed for the dorm, where he would have time to sort out his thoughts and plan on them. He could've tried to test out his suspicions before – casually drop a hint during the conversation and see how Mitsuru reacts – but that would've been risky. And, truth be told, the woman scares him. Not as much as Momoka does when she's angry, but still… He has to be cautious.<p>

On a whim, though, he decided midway to go to the mall instead. He wasn't really sure why. He's nowhere near restless enough to require another trip to the arcade, and he's never really big into shopping or karaoke. In any case, he spent a good amount of time simply sitting there in front of the fountain doing absolutely nothing.

Just when he was about fed up with the boredom, he noticed Minato. Yoshiro was about to say a greeting when he noticed him heading towards the alley between the stores. Curious, Yoshiro followed him.

When he entered the alley, he saw Minato standing there, staring blankly at the wall. He moved closer. "Minato?"

The boy didn't reply, just stared straight at the wall.

Yoshiro waved his hand in front of his face. "Miinaatoo," he tried again.

A second later, as though waking up from a dream, Minato shook his head. Almost immediately he recoiled at the sight of Yoshiro, as if he hadn't seen him all that time. "Oh, it's you," he said.

"What were you doing?" Yoshiro asked, "You were staring into space. I almost thought you suddenly became one of the Lost or something."

Minato chuckled. "No, I was just – daydreaming."

…

Was it just him, or was there a pause in that sentence?

"In the middle of an alley?" Yoshiro asked. "What are you doing here in the first place?"

Minato shrugged. "I thought I saw something," he said, his voice returning to normal. Yoshiro knew that he had regained his composure, and that it'd be nigh impossible to try and get what he's hiding now without potentially annoying him – something that Yoshiro would rather not do.

He sighed. "Alright, whatever. It's getting kinda late. We should head back to the dorm."

"You go on ahead. I still need to take care of some other business," Minato said.

Yoshiro raised an eyebrow. "Alright…" he said, leaving the alley, "See you back at the dorm."

Minato nodded.

A few moments later, Minato left the alley and headed in the direction of the dorm.

And Yoshiro ducked out of his hiding place and entered the alley, his curiosity getting the better of him.

For a while, Yoshiro stared intently at the wall Minato was staring at, trying to see if he could see what Minato did. No matter how hard he stared, though, the wall remained just a simple wall. He ran his fingers on its surface, and even tapped it a few times, but no matter what he did, nothing seems to convince him that what stood in front of him is anything but a wall.

Finally, Yoshiro sighed. "I'm making way too big a deal over nothing," he murmured to himself. Maybe Minato _did_ just see something, went into this alley, and then had a spontaneous daydream episode right as he was looking at this wall.

…If only he could make himself believe that.

For now, though, he has no choice but to just drop it. Whatever Minato was doing, it didn't look as though it would factor in to his search for Momoka, so he could drop it for now. Still, this is another one of those things he'd have to come back to at another time.

He sighed one more time. He seemed to be piling on more and more of those since he came here.

With that last thought, he exited the alley and headed back towards the dorm.


End file.
